AFTER conquering Mt. Fuji’s best, one step now separates Alexandra “Alex” Eala from reaching another summit for Philippine tennis.
And whether she achieves it or falls just short, the 21-year-old Filipina is bound to soar to a new career-best ranking from a current placing at No. 28 and earn one of her biggest purses ever.
Ms. Eala, with a titular showdown against a familiar nemesis in Jessica Pegula of the United States at press time (12 a.m., Manila time) in the Mubadala DC Open, is assured of a new best ranking at No. 24 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) with 256 additional points for a total of 1931.
It’s the first-ever WTA 500 final appearance for Ms. Eala and she could climb to as high as No. 20 with a win against Ms. Pegula, the world No. 3 and the tournament No. 1 seed, after toppling an Olympic champion, reigning Washington champion, WTA Tour Finals champion and a four-time Grand Slam champion in succession.
A third pro title but first WTA-tour level is also up for grabs for Ms. Eala, having won the WTA 125 Guadalajara and Birmingham considered as challenger tournaments.
With at least a runner-up finish, Ms. Eala will earn a sure purse of $155,000 or around P9.5 million for her third-highest career earning after taking home $332,160 (around P19 million) in the Miami Open and £300,000 (around P24.6 million) in the Wimbledon.
A sweet title is worth $252,000 (around P15.4 million).
All of these come on the heels of her magical Round of 16 run in Wimbledon, looking good so far in her US Open buildup on Aug. 30 to Sept. 13 in Flushing Meadows, New York.
But even with these new feats on the horizon after taking down titans one after another, Ms. Eala is good with being a titan slayer for now, not as one.
“I still have so much motivation to become a better player and become a better person. I’m (only) 21, so it’s not like I’m the queen of the world or anything,” Ms. Eala smiled after easing past world No. 13 Naomi Osaka of Japan, 6-4, 6-2, before a jampacked stadium crowd at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on Sunday morning.
Now in her bid to at least get closer to the coveted goal, another giant stands in the way in the name of Ms. Pegula, a 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-3 winner in the Miami Open Final Four that served as Ms. Eala’s first arrival in the world tennis landscape.
“I’m more well-rounded now. I think I’m physically a little better,” said Ms. Eala, noting her improvements on service, strokes and pace from a year ago as the Miami Open breakout star from being a wildcard and then No. 140 player.
“But then again, each player is always evolving. Improvement is not a linear thing. So, every match is different. And I’m sure Jess (Pegula) has also changed so much.”
Ms. Pegula, as Washington’s top-ranked player without No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, breezed through the finale with a 7-5, 6-4 win over No. 4 seed and world No. 18 Diana Shnaider of Russia in the other semis pairing.
It was an expected cruise to the final for Ms. Pegula but definitely not for Ms. Eala, who dealt with a two-week hiatus after coming home to the Philippines on the heels of her stellar Wimby campaign.
But rust was nowhere to be found in Ms. Eala’s first tournament of the hard-court swing, making short work of Ms. Osaka in only 76 minutes of play in less than 24 hours after drubbing world No. 10 and tournament No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, 20-time WTA champion and the 2018 WTA Tour Finals winner, with an easy 6-3, 6-4 win.
“I remember watching Naomi (Osaka) in the finals of the Australian Open and also in the US Open, so it’s really a great experience to share the court with her. I’m really happy that I was able to produce that level against her,” said Ms. Eala, who has now beaten the two best Asian players ahead of her after also stunning Ms. Rybakina in Berlin two months ago.
Save for a three-set win against Paris Olympics gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, Ms. Eala has not yielded a single set against a bevy of big guns after also dethroning DC titlist Leylah Fernandez of Canada, 6-2, 7-6 (7-1).
“Going into this tournament, I looked at the list, and it was jam-packed. It was big player after big player after big player. So, to be in the final really means a lot to me,” Ms. Eala beamed.
Now, only time can tell if Ms. Eala has what it takes to win it all at the US capital — on the crest of historic wins against the best of China, Canada, Ukraine and Japan with multiple Grand Slams, WTA and Olympic medals at their disposal. — John Bryan Ulanday