MANILA – Filipino Alexandra Eala survived her first-round match at the WTA 500 Berlin Open, beating Queen’s Club champion Donna Vekic, 7-5, 6-4, Wednesday on the grass of the Steffi Graf Stadium in Germany.
Eala, who is now 2-0 against Vekic, won the WTA 125 Birmingham Open at the Edgbaston Priory Club in England last June 7.
Vekic, on the other hand, ruled the HSBC Championships (Queen’s Club Championships) last June 14 to secure her first career WTA 500 title. She entered the main draw as a “lucky loser” and conquered British Emma Raducanu, 6-0, 7-6 (6) in the final to become the first Croatian to win the women’s singles title.
Eala recovered from 0-40 in the final game to win the match and set up a duel with World No. 2 Elena Rybakina.
The second-seeded Rybakina had a first-round bye along with World No. 1 and top seed Aryna Sabalenka, third seed American and 2024 champion Jessica Pegula, and fifth seed American Coco Gauff.
Liudmila Samsonova won the tournament’s inaugural event in 2021 followed by Ons Jabeur (2022) and Petra Kvitova (2023). Czech Marketa Vondrousova defeated Chinese Wang Xinyu, 7-6(10), 4-6, 6-2, last year.
“I told myself that she’s fighting back, but I’m also a fighter, so I have to try. I have to try and I have to give her a hard time,” the 21-year-old Eala told Sky Sports during the post-match interview.
“Donna is an incredible player and she’s been showcasing it a lot lately, and every time I play her, it’s been very difficult,” she said.
“So I had a lot of expectations for this match in terms of the level that I had to bring in, and I’m happy with the intensity today,” added Eala, who sits at No. 34 in the WTA Live Singles Rankings with 1,422 points.
She reached a career-high World No. 33 after winning the Birmingham Open, her first title on grasscourt and second WTA 125 crown after the 2025 Guadalajara Open in Mexico.
Last year, she bagged the gold medal at the Thailand SEA Games, the Philippines’ first in women’s singles after 26 years.
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