She feels the love: Fans boost Alex Eala to first WTA title

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER GIANT SLAIN Alexandra “Alex” Eala can now relax with her Mubadala DC Open championship trophy after her third-set mastery of Jessica Pegula of the United States (right photo) at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Washington. —Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala kept the country up until the wee hours on Monday as she picked off the last top 10-ranked player in the world left in the Mubadala DC Open, with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over Jessica Pegula of the United States.

The comeback win gave Eala her first Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour championship—and a newly elevated place in Philippine sports history.

READ: Alex Eala, Filipino fans make rare Monday final one to remember

No other Filipino—man or woman—has won a tennis title at this level, and Eala has taken along an entire nation for the ride. More fans started following her especially after her breakout tournament in Miami last year, and now in Washington DC even television analysts were left dumbfounded by her feat.

“To all my supporters, thank you, guys,” Eala had said in a post-match interview. “Especially to the Filipino community here in DC and back home, wherever you are in the world. I really feel all the love, ’Maraming, maraming salamat, mga kababayan.’”

Currently ranked No. 3 in the world, Pegula came in as the top-seeded player in the tournament—but was now added to Eala’s conquests in elite level competitions.

Leading to the finals, Eala’s ascent to superstardom has the internet buzzing with all kinds of praise from some of the game’s best players of all time.

READ: Alex Eala glows in championship photoshoot after DC Open title

She fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands when she converted on the second championship point, as the victory formalized her arrival as a legitimate force and shut down all talk that she doesn’t have the game to win because of her serve.

She actually won the last nine games of the contest, surrendering just eight points in the third set in blanking the seasoned Pegula.

“Just pure happiness,” Eala said of her first title, which came after she agonizingly failed to convert four championship points in her only prior final at Eastbourne last year.

“Oh my gosh, winning a (WTA) 500 (level), it’s insane. It’s an incredible milestone for me,” she added.

“At the beginning of the week, there is no way I would have thought that I would be holding this trophy. Even at the beginning of the year,” Eala said. “These things kind of creep up on you and I hold these moments really close to me.”

Storming run

With her latest win, Eala rises to a career-high 20th in the world rankings after a relentless run that claimed the scalps of Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, second-seeded Elina Svitolina, third-seeded former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka and defending champion Leylah Fernandez.

“It was a very steep hill,” she said. “I knew that the competition was super-strong and my draw was quite tough. So I’m really, really proud. I think I encountered my fair share of obstacles this week.”

The scoreboard showed a match time of one hour and 45 minutes, but it took nearly 24 hours to complete.

Pegula had won the first set 6-4, and Eala was up 2-1 in the second on Sunday when officials decided to postpone the finish until Monday due to lengthy rain delays.

The pair waited through a three-hour delay before starting, and once the match was halted, it was another five hours before officials called a halt for the day.

“Definitely felt like two different matches,” said Pegula, who opened Monday’s action with a nervy service hold for 2-2.

“I just felt like I couldn’t find my rhythm. I think I was playing much better yesterday, for whatever reason, than I was today, and I think she was playing better today than she was yesterday.”

Eala also had to work hard to keep herself ready during the long break.

“I think I warmed up like a thousand times,” the Filipino ace said. “A lot of unpredictable swings with the weather, and I want to thank the tournament for just, you know, being so accommodating, helping us through it and, you know, arranging this Monday final was really great.

“It was difficult, I think, [but] at the same time, it’s happened to me a lot, you know, rain delays.

All Alex in the 3rd

“I think this is just kind of another one of those, although it [had] a lot higher stakes. But I think I was able to take my time and kind of take those learnings from the first half of the match and do my best to apply them in the second, and I think it worked pretty well.”

Pegula could make no inroads on Eala’s serve, and Eala broke Pegula in the 10th game to take the second set and force a third.

The final set was all Eala, to the delight of a vocal contingent of supporters, which turned out in force despite the postponement.

Pegula welcomed the energy of the crowd even in support of her opponent, who has proved a massive draw around the world.

“I just think it’s so refreshing and nice to see how well she’s handled all of the kind of fandom and stardom that’s come with her being from the Philippines and how they’ve really embraced her,” Pegula said.

“It’s crazy how she deals with it every single week, which just shows her maturity as a player and as a person.”

Both players will now head to Toronto, where two-time champion Pegula is the third seed and Eala is seeded 25th in the WTA 1000 hard court event.

Cheers, no jynx, from Marcos

In Manila, President Marcos, who last week praised Eala in his State of the Nation Address, again congratulated the new Filipino star athlete.

“Alex Eala does it again. The Philippines now has its first WTA 500 champion,” Marcos said in a post on his official Facebook account on Tuesday. The Filipino nation joins you in celebrating this latest achievement. Mabuhay ka, Alex!”

She continued “to redefine what is possible for Philippine tennis and inspire countless young Filipinos to dream without limits,” the President added.

According to Palace press officer Claire Castro, however, the President opted not to watch Eala’s matches live at the Mubadala DC Open “because he might bring bad luck if he watches her games in real time.”

Senator-judges ‘united’

At the Senate, Sen. Francis Escudero, the presiding officer of the impeachment court trying Vice President Sara Duterte, conveyed the chamber’s congratulations before the start of Tuesday’s hearing.

“Our views may differ. Although both sides are competing here in the impeachment court, there are things that we should agree on and be united about, especially those who stayed up late last night watching TV,” Escudero said.

“And for me, one of these is the victory and championship of our talented and brave compatriot Alex Eala in the DC Open,” he said, drawing applause from his fellow senator-judges and those in the gallery.

“We are so proud of you and we celebrate your victory. Congratulations, Alex,” he said, adding in jest: “If there’s a sleepy senator-judge, [he/she] probably watched it last night.”

Several other senators also filed resolutions commending Eala for her latest championship. —WITH REPORTS FROM DEXTER CABALZA, AND TINA G. SANTOS