Eala rallies to capture maiden WTA title

WASHINGTON — Alexandra Eala's breakthrough week at the DC Open lasted one day longer than 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 her first career WTA Tour title.

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 title in 2019.

"At the beginning of the week, there's no way I would have thought that I would be holding this trophy," Eala said. "Winning a 500 (level tournament) is insane. It's an incredible milestone for me. These things kind of creep up on you and I hold these moments really close to me."

Eala arrived at Stadium Court as the story of the tournament, carrying the hopes of her nation.

Philippine flags decorated the stands throughout Sunday's rain-interrupted session and remained visible Monday, with the lower bowl filled for the resumption. Chants for Eala routinely outweighed those for the top-ranked American playing on home soil.

"It's not fun to play against, but I do appreciate the really fun atmosphere," Pegula said of the crowd. "I think it's amazing."

It capped a week in which the rising star transformed the atmosphere around the tournament, while reaching her first WTA final in her debut at the hard-court tune-up for the US 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.

When they returned on Monday, the momentum belonged to Eala.

She stormed back to claim the second set, then swept through the third. Eala ultimately won the final eight games of the match to secure the championship, beating all three of the tournament's top seeds along the way.

Eala dropped to the court with her head in her hands, overcome with emotion. Tears filled her eyes before she rose, embraced Pegula at the net and let out a triumphant scream.

"I was so nervous, and I kind of just blacked out," Eala said. "Everything just came rushing to me."

She won the last eight games of the contest, surrendering just eight points in the third set.

"Just pure happiness," Eala said of her first title, which comes after she agonizingly failed to convert four championship points in her only prior final at Eastbourne, England, last year.

'Very steep hill'

Eala is projected to rise to a career-high 20th in the world after a storming run that included victories over Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, second-seeded Elina Svitolina, third-seeded former world No 1 Naomi Osaka and defending champion Leylah Fernandez.

"It was a very steep hill," she said. "I knew that the competition was super strong and my draw was quite tough. So I'm really, really proud. I think I encountered my fair share of obstacles this week."

The scoreboard showed a match time of one hour and 45 minutes, but it took nearly 24 hours to complete.

Pegula had won the first set 6-4 and Eala was up 2-1 in the second on Sunday when officials postponed the finish until Monday after lengthy rain delays.

The pair had waited through a three-hour delay before starting, and once the match was halted it was another five hours before officials called a halt for the day.

"Definitely felt like two different matches," said Pegula, who opened Monday's action with a nervy service hold for 2-2.

"I just felt like I couldn't find my rhythm. I think I was playing much better yesterday, for whatever reason, than I was today, and I think she was playing better today than she was yesterday."

Pegula could make no inroads on Eala's serve, and Eala broke Pegula in the 10th game to take the second set and force a third.

The final set was all Eala, to the delight of a vocal contingent of supporters, who turned out in force despite the postponement.

Pegula welcomed the energy of the crowd even in support of her opponent, who has proved a massive draw around the world.

"I just think it's so refreshing and nice to see how well she's handled all of the kind of fandom and stardom that's come with her being from the Philippines, and how they've really embraced her," Pegula said.

"It's crazy how she deals with it every single week, which just shows her maturity as both a player and as a person."

Both players will now head to Toronto, where two-time champion Pegula is the third seed and Eala is seeded 25th in the WTA1000 hard-court event.

Eala also received congratulations from former eight-division boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, who wrote on social media that her comeback showed the "heart of a Filipino" before calling her "our new champion".

In the men's final later on Monday, third-seeded Taylor Fritz defeated Rafael Jodar 7-6 (2), 6-4.

Fritz broke the Spaniard twice early in the second set, and eventually converted his fifth championship point after letting four earlier opportunities slip away.

Fritz lay on the court for several moments after winning the 11th title of his career, then got to his feet with a roll of his eyes as the tension of finally closing out the match gave way.

"It was just relief, like, thank God I got it done; thank God the match is over," Fritz said of the moment. "It wasn't so much as, like, a celebration... I can just lay down for a second."

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