The Alex Eala revenge tour proved so satisfying that it deserved an encore.
Less than 24 hours after grinding through a two-hour, 27-minute opening-round victory, Eala returned to the court looking no worse for wear, stunning defending champion and seventh seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada, 6-2, 7-6 (1), in the Round of 16 of the WTA 500 Mubadala Citi DC Open on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
The victory came a day after the Filipina defeated former world No. 4 and Paris Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen of China in three sets. Zheng had previously denied Eala a place in the final of the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games after beating her in the semifinals.
Against Fernandez, Eala had another opportunity to avenge a recent defeat. The Canadian had beaten her convincingly, 6-1, 6-4, in the first round of the WTA Stuttgart Open last April.
Playing for the second straight day on the Main Stadium court at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, Eala displayed patience and discipline against the gritty reigning champion.
The world No. 28 raced to a dream start, storming to a 3-0 lead while allowing Fernandez just two points over the opening three games. The No. 34-ranked Fernandez, finally got on the board by holding serve in the fourth game, but Eala quickly regained control, winning three of the next four games to wrap up the opening set.
Fernandez, the 2021 US Open runner-up, responded with the resilience that has defined her career. She survived six deuces to hold serve in the second game of the second set before converting her third break point in the next game to seize her first lead of the match at 2-1. The Canadian eventually stretched the advantage to 5-1 and looked poised to force a deciding set.
Eala, however, refused to fold.
The 21-year-old Filipina took command of the rallies and forced Fernandez into a string of unforced errors. She even broke serve twice while reeling off five consecutive games to move ahead, 6-5. Fernandez halted the surge by holding serve in the 12th game to force a tiebreak.
The tiebreak belonged entirely to Eala.
She overwhelmed Fernandez from the outset, conceding just one point to complete the victory after one hour and 55 minutes.
With two wins in her maiden Washington Open campaign, Eala advanced to her second WTA 500 quarterfinal of the season. She will face either second seed and world No. 10 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine or qualifier Polina Kudermetova, who were scheduled to meet in the Round of 16.
