08/03/26 12:35:00
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08/03 12:33 CDT Alexandra Eala rallies past Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 to
capture her first WTA singles title
Alexandra Eala rallies past Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 to capture her first
WTA singles title
By JORDAN FENDRICH
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) --- Alexandra Eala's breakthrough week at the DC Open lasted
one day longer than anyone expected. By the time it ended, the Filipino
expression written across the Nike T-shirt she had worn earlier that week had
become a reality.
"Once it grows, it cannot be stopped."
After the women's final stretched across two days because of heavy rain, Eala
rallied past Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 Monday to capture the first WTA Tour
singles title of her career.
The victory made the 21-year-old Eala the first Filipina to win a singles title
on the tour, completing the same career-defining breakthrough that the
Washington tournament once gave Pegula when she claimed her first WTA Tour
title in 2019.
Eala arrived at Stadium Court as the story of the tournament.
The Filipina carried the hopes of a tennis nation. Philippine flags dotted the
stands throughout Sunday's rain-interrupted session, and chants for Eala
routinely outweighed those for Pegula.
It capped a week in which the rising star transformed the atmosphere around the
tournament while reaching her first WTA Tour final in her debut at the
hard-court tuneup for the U.S. Open.
The two traded breaks midway through the opening set, with Pegula breaking
again at 4-4 and serving out the set at love. The players held through the
opening three games of the second set before heavy rain suspended play on
Sunday afternoon, with Eala up 2-1.
When they returned on Monday, the momentum belonged to Eala.
She stormed back to claim the second set, then swept through the third. She won
each game of the final set of the match to complete the comeback. In the
process, she defeated all three of the tournament's top seeds and turned the
biggest week of her career into a historic first title.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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