JULY 28: Alexandra Eala of the Philippines speaks in a press conference following a women’s singles match against Qinwen Zheng of China on day two of the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2026 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on July 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. Emilee Chinn/Getty Images/AFP
WASHINGTON—Over again, as at all times, the gang got here out to rally behind Alex Eala.
The unwavering support of Filipino fans again matched the young star’s growing global profile as she fought back to oust China’s Zheng Qinwen, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, to succeed in the second round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday.
Fresh off a breakthrough Wimbledon campaign wherein she became the primary Filipino to succeed in the fourth round of a Grand Slam singles event, Eala played before one other full of life crowd that loudly backed the 21-year-old ace throughout her two-hour, 26-minute victory.
Fairly than concentrate on her own rising popularity, Eala credited the Filipino community within the US capital for creating the atmosphere that carried her through a demanding match.
“I feel the query ought to be rephrased—it’s what it’s prefer to be Filipino,” Eala said when asked about receiving support from fans around the globe.
“I feel the community here in DC is amazing. I feel there was an incredible atmosphere for each players and I’m really glad with my win today,” she later added in an interview with a Filipino journalist. “In fact, the atmosphere is great. It makes it so fun to be out on court and really competitive.”
Eala recovered after dropping the opening set, steadily raising her level against the higher-ranked Zheng before taking control within the decider.
“I feel I just focused point by point,” Eala said. “I used to be attempting to keep the intensity in every point that I had and take a look at not to provide her too many free points. I feel intensity is basically key in all these matches while you’re playing players of her caliber.”
The victory sent Eala right into a second-round meeting with defending champion and seventh seed Leylah Fernandez at press time, with a quarterfinal berth at stake.
Eala was playing an opponent who shares her Filipino roots, because the Canadian standout’s mother can be from the Philippines.
“I feel it’s going to be a really tough match for me; Leila is such an incredible player and an incredible person as well,” Eala said before she took the court against Fernandez.
Elsewhere within the tournament, second seed Ben Shelton survived a rain-interrupted battle to defeat fellow American Martin Damm, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, in his opening match.
“Comfortable that I used to be mentally stable and difficult enough to get through that match,” Shelton said after advancing to face France’s Ugo Humbert.
Australian teenager Cruz Hewitt, the 17-year-old son of former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, celebrated his first ATP Tour main-draw victory by defeating American qualifier Marcos Giron, 6-3, 6-4. —REPORTS FROM AFP AND INQUIRER SPORTS DESK