Eala eyes repeat against world No. 10 Svitolina in DC Open quarters; battle of top Asians looms

A courageous victory deserves an encore.

That will be Alex Eala’s battle cry when she collides with world No. 10 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the quarterfinal round of the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C., Saturday, Aug. 1.

While the 21-year-old Eala is looking for a close encounter just like their duel last month in Germany, fans and experts alike expect the Filipina darling to emerge victorious once again no matter how hard the match would be.

For one, Eala is coming off vengeful wins over Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China in the opening round (4-6, 6-4, 6-1) and Canadian Leylah Fernandez, 6-2, 7-6 (1), in the Round of 16.

In their Berlin Open quarterfinal showdown – a grass court tournament – Eala scored a 6-3, 6-4 win, a feat that will certainly give her a mental edge.

Their match is set at 6:30 a.m. (Philippine time) with the victor earning the right to face either Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto or No. 3 Japanese Naomi Osaka in the semis.

If stars align, Eala and Osaka could set up an exciting all-Asian semis showdown and it will be the first time that two of the continent's finest meet in the professional circuit.

The other quarters brackets feature No. 1 seed American Jessica Pegula against Anna

Kalinskaya, while Diana Shaider clashes with Luidmila Samsonova.

In beating Fernandez, who has Filipino blood, Eala paid tribute to her patience as she rallied furiously from a 1-5deficit to complete another epic win.

But she’s not looking past Svitolina, who is a four-time Slam semifinalist.

“Then again, every single player here is a fighter,” said Eala during her interview with Tennis Channel.

“And if, whether it’s my opponent today, the one yesterday, the one before that, or the one tomorrow. We’re here because we’re fighters, so you cannot count anybody out,” she added.

Eala, alongside her American friend Iva Jovic, also once took down Svitolina, who partnered with tennis legend Venus Williams, in the Round of 16 of the ASB Classic doubles events.

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