Alexandra Eala denied Leylah Fernandez a chance at a second consecutive title at the Mubadala DC Open. An inspired performance saw the Filipino star send the defending champion packing in straight sets after fending off a comeback attempt.
Fernandez, who has now arrived in Toronto for her home tournament, opened up about how the match unfolded.
Leylah Fernandez Shares Her Thoughts on Facing Defeat Against Alexandra Eala at the DC Open
Fernandez, who has endured a rather underwhelming season, arrived at the DC Open hoping to successfully defend her title. Ahead of her campaign, the Canadian star said that enjoying her time on the court played a major role in her victory 12 months ago. At last year’s tournament, she staged a remarkable run, beating the likes of Jessica Pegula, Elena Rybakina, and Anna Kalinskaya en route to the title.
She made a winning start this year, convincingly dismissing Magda Linette 6-1, 6-4 in the first round. The seventh seed, however, was halted in the next round by Eala. The 21-year-old produced a dominant performance in the opening set, winning 6-2.
“I mean, honestly, Alex has been playing really well. I think the biggest thing is that she’s playing with a lot of confidence. She’s trusting herself, trusting her shots, her patterns, and a lot of her balls are going in. So, that’s the big difference. I feel like she’s progressing well. Whatever she’s doing with her team is working,” Fernandez said in her post-match press conference.
The second set unfolded quite differently. Leylah Fernandez raised her level and quickly raced to a 5-1 lead. Eala, however, refused to go away, erasing the two-break deficit to draw level at 5-5. Explaining what resulted in the sudden shift in momentum, the Canadian said, “At 5-1, I guess I wanted it too much and started reverting back to how I played in the first set, which obviously it didn’t help. And I started making more mistakes, forcing some errors.”
“I was playing well, doing the right patterns. I wanted it too much where I started being overly aggressive. I changed my own tactic, which was pretty dumb of me,” she added.
This was Alexandra Eala’s second consecutive tournament, eliminating the defending champion. Earlier this month, the World No. 28 sent Iga Świątek packing at Wimbledon.
“She’s a tough player. She’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Fernandez observed after her loss. “She’s always in the match, whether she’s down or whether she’s up. She’s playing well this year, and for myself, I just need to focus and see what I need to do better when I am up in the score.”
Fernandez has now begun her preparations for the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto. Meanwhile, Eala, who is in search of her first tour-level title, has set up a quarterfinal clash against second seed Elina Svitolina. The Filipino star secured a dominant 6-3, 6-4 win against the Ukrainian in their first meeting in Berlin last month.
