Alex Eala wins Mubadala DC Open title, stuns Jessica Pegula

MANILA, Philippines–Alex Eala was trailing Jessica Pegula at the Mubadala DC Open Final when heavy downpour suspended play at William H.G. Tennis Center in Washington.

That turned out to be just the calm before the real storm that the top-seeded Pegula couldn’t weather.

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Back against the wall, Eala went on a ferocious fightback to knock off the American World No. 3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, and capture the biggest win of her young career in front of a frenetic predominantly Filipino crowd at centre court on United States soil.

The match, which was delayed for three hours due to the bad weather, was halted and pushed to another day when rain returned with Eala behind, 4-6, 2-1.

But it was certainly worth the wait, especially for Filipino fans, who stayed up in the wee hours of the morning to witness Eala achieve another historic feat.

The Filipino trailblazer claimed her first WTA Tour-level and WTA 500 title after going on another giant-slaying run.

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Eala opened her Washington campaign by rallying past Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen. She then dethroned defending champion Leylah Fernandez in another comeback win that saw her battle back from a 5-1 deficit in the second set.

The 21-year-old Eala also swept World No. 10 Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinal and dispatched four-time Grand Slam winner and former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka in the final four.

Eala, who is expected to crack the WTA top 20, looks to sustain her fine form at the WTA 1000 Canadian Open in Toronto, where she’s seeded 25th and drew a first-round bye.

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Eala evened her head-to-head matchup with Pegula, who ended her dream run in Miami in March of last year. She also denied Pegula a second crown in Washington.