Alex Eala obtained his North American onerous court docket swing off to a flying begin with a surprising 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 come-from-behind victory over Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen within the first spherical of the 2026 Mubadala DC Open held in Washington DC early Wednesday morning (Philippine time).
The win was Ella’s first profession win after dropping to Zheng of their solely assembly, a three-set semifinal on the 2023 Asian Video games, 6-1, 6(5)-7, 6-3.
Eala took the lead within the first set, held serve within the first sport, and broke Zheng within the second sport to take an early 2-0 benefit. Nonetheless, Zheng rapidly responded and obtained a break again, then held serve to tie the set at 2-2.
Each gamers discovered their rhythm from the baseline and exchanged comfy holds to maintain the rating tied at 3-3. The turning level got here within the seventh sport, when Zheng put sustained strain on Ila’s serve and obtained her second break of service of the set to take a 4-3 lead.
The Olympic champion then confirmed composure in a ferocious eighth sport, warding off resistance and clinching a break with a key maintain to take a 5-3 benefit.
From there, Chung took management along with her serve and confidently held on within the tenth sport to take a 6-4 lead and finish the primary set.
Regardless of the aggressive nature of the primary match, the Chinese language star held a slim benefit within the trade of assaults, ending with 12 winners to Ila’s eight. This is among the few statistical benefits that separated the pair within the first set.
The second set started with each gamers wanting calm behind their serve, exchanging comfy holds all through the primary two video games. Ila then confirmed resilience within the third set, avoiding three break factors and escaping with a key maintain to keep up a 2-1 benefit.
Within the subsequent three video games, neither participant was capable of make a return assault, however within the seventh inning, Zheng raised the extent and beat Ila at like to take a 4-3 lead. However as the previous world No. 4 seemed to be in management, Ila reacted rapidly, breaking again straight to erase the lead and tie the set at 4-4.
Constructing on that momentum, Ira confidently held serve within the ninth sport, took benefit of Zheng’s errors within the subsequent sport, and obtained one other break of serve to clinch the set 6-4 and steal the decisive third sport.
Ila’s clear shot-making proved to be the distinction within the second set, and she or he remained calm within the essential late phases, committing simply 10 unforced errors to Chung’s 18.
Eala carried that momentum into the ultimate set, holding serve within the first and third video games, breaking Zheng twice in between to take a commanding 4-0 lead. She obtained off to a scorching begin, successful seven video games in a row late within the second set.
Zheng finally halted his momentum with a break of serve within the fifth sport, however Ila responded strongly and broke again in straight units to regain a four-game cushion at 5-1.
The Filipino then held on within the seventh sport to finish a powerful comeback in opposition to the highest gamers.
Awaiting Ila within the Spherical of 16 will probably be reigning champion Leila Fernandez, and it guarantees to be an attention-grabbing matchup between two gamers with Filipino roots.
