MANILA, Philippines — Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala insinuated before her WTA 500 Mubadala D.C. Open campaign that she's not 100 percent in many aspects, resulting in her withdrawal in the doubles where she's supposed to team up anew with Venus Williams.
It was reasonable to believe that she wouldn't go all the way and win her first Tour-level title in Washington, but she did so early Tuesday in Manila.
A 2-time champ in 125-tier events (Guadalajara, Birmingham), Eala said winning her first title of real significance is insane.
"I've said this a lot, but first and foremost, it's an achievement for myself. It's a personal achievement. I've worked really hard. And oh my gosh, winning a 500 is insane. It's an incredible milestone for me," said world No. 20 Eala.
"And, you know, at the beginning of the week, there's no way I would have thought that I would be holding this trophy. And, you know, even at the beginning of the year, like it's just, you know, these things kind of creep up on you. And yeah, I hold these moments really close to me."
On top of a rain-delayed finale where she turned back world No. 3 Jessica Pegula, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, what made Eala's title sweeter is the tough draw she just had.
Eala topped reigning Olympic champ and former world No. 4 Zheng Qinwen of China, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the first round before dethroning defending champ Leylah Fernandez of Canada in the second, 6-2, 7-6(1).
The 21-year-old repeated over world No. 9 and No. 3 seed Elina Svitolina, in the quarterfinal, 6-3, 6-4, and stunned 4-time Grand Slam champ Naomi Osaka in the semis, 6-4- 6-2, to arrange a showdown against Pegula in the final that was pushed back a day due to persistent rains.
"Yeah, it was a very steep hill and coming into the tournament, I knew that the competition was super strong. My draw was quite tough," said Eala.
"Every match was just a different set of obstacles, you know, so I'm really, really proud. I think I encountered my fair share of obstacles this week. So super happy."
Bound for the 1000 National Bank Open in Toronto, Eala said having that draw she just had will just keep raising her level of play.
"Well, I think to have this many matches, you know, at this very high level, like you said, having these high caliber players, it helps me obviously just gain experience and more core time at that level," said Eala.
"And I think inevitably propelling my progression and the level of my game. Because if you spend time at that, you know, that kind of zone, the more time you spend, I believe the better you get and the more consistent you get. So it's all these matches and all these hours are just experience in the bag."
