By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire
At the age of 21, Alexandra Eala wins his first career WTA title after defeating Jessica Pegula in the Washington Final, 4-6 6-4 6-0.
Eala becomes the first Filipino player to win a singles title. She fought and scratched to earn this trophy. Eala had to beat some of the toughest opponents to capture this glory. She won five matches against top 10 players. Some of her opponents aside from Pegula were Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Elina Svitolina.
Naomi Osaka was another competitive opponent that Eala had to beat. Eala dominated by winning her last eight games. She’s having a legendary season in her young professional tennis career. The moment she realized she won the match, she dropped to her knees and let her emotions out.
She’s grateful to have competed against Pegula. This was her second meeting against Pegula. Eala is humble enough to have learned from her and praised her after the match. That’s the true spirit of sports. You want to see competitors respect each other’s talent and show true sportsmanship and class. Pegula and Eala did that on Monday afternoon.
“I’m really looking forward to hopefully many more finals with you, so thank you,” Eala said to Pegula.
Eala also thanks her parents and her family overall. Eala could not have done anything without her family and her team. Eala’s team is the heart and soul for everything that happens behind the scenes. They make sure that she’s never alone and constantly keep her focus.
“An amazing tournament and moving the final to Monday was no easy feat but a memorable one,” Eala said. “Congratulations on a great tournament.”
Pegula was very gracious in her defeat. Her speech was also classy and professional.
“I can definitely confirm for a Monday final, this is the best Monday final crowd I’ve seen,” Pegula said. “I’m sure some people took off work. I won’t tell them where you guys were. To all the Filipino fans that came out and have supported, you guys are helping grow tennis around the world. I appreciate that being a female athlete in tennis. We love to see that grow.”
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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