Alex Eala stopped Donna Vekic’s five-match winning streak on grass, methodically breaking down the Croatian en route to a 7–5, 6–4 triumph in the opening round of the WTA 500 Berlin Tennis Open on Wednesday.
Eala had already beaten Vekic twice in January, first at the WTA 250 ASB Classic in New Zealand and then in an exhibition at the Kooyong Classic in Australia.
Heading into their first-round clash in Berlin, oddsmakers and experts favored Vekic, and for good reason.
The Croatian came in fresh off her WTA 500 Queen’s Club Championships title run, where she defeated 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, former world No. 1 Karolína Plíšková, and former British No. 1 Katie Boulter.
Vekic also became the first lucky loser since 2023 to finish a week as a WTA champion.
She then carried her strong form in London to the Steffi Graf Stadion in Berlin, breaking Eala in the second game to race to a 2–0 lead in the first set.
But Eala remained unfazed, clawing her way back to level the score at 2–2.
The rest of the set featured momentum swinging like a pendulum, as world No. 35 Eala and world No. 33 Vekic engaged in high-quality rallies.
The Filipina held a 3–2 lead but found herself in danger of losing serve after falling behind 0–40. She held firm, saving three break points to go up 4–2.
Vekic responded by winning the next three games to retake the lead at 5–4.
But Eala answered in the clutch, sweeping the final three games to claim a tightly contested first set in one hour and three minutes.
Eala struck first in the second set, earning an early break for a 2–0 lead. Vekic stayed within reach, keeping the gap to just one break at 4–3.
After an unexpected pause in play when a spectator required medical attention, Eala held serve to move closer to victory.
Vekic threatened once more after holding in the ninth game.
The 29-year-old Croatian later earned four break points in the tenth game, but Eala once again showed composure to hold serve and close out the match in 54 minutes in the second set.
Eala finished with 27 winners and fired eight aces in the match.
The win sends Eala into a rematch with world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the second round. Eala previously fell to Rybakina in the third round of the Italian Open last May, 6–4, 6–3.
