MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala has made a habit of beating Donna Vekic.
The 21-year-old Filipina trumped the veteran Croatian for the third time this year, claiming a 7-5, 6-4 victory in their round of 32 clash in the Berlin Tennis Open in Germany on Wednesday, June 17.
A wild card in the WTA 500 tournament, Eala rebounded from a flat start and stole a nerve-wracking opening set as she stayed unbeaten against the 29-year-old Vekic.
Officially, Eala has beaten Vekic twice on the WTA Tour, the first one coming in their round of 32 duel in the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, in January. Her other victory over the Croatian came in the same month in the Kooyong Classic, an exhibition event in Australia.
Proficient on grass as proven by her final four appearance in the 2024 Wimbledon Open, Vekic jumped to a 2-0 start and even moved on the cusp of taking the first set at 5-4.
But Eala flipped the script, knotting the score at 5-5 by holding serve, seizing the upper hand by breaking Vekic, then winning a third straight game to grab a 1-0 set advantage.
Eala won five consecutive games as she grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second set, then built on that promising start to dispose of Vekic in 1 hour and 59 minutes.
Showing her improved serve, Eala fired 7 aces.
But Eala faces an uphill climb in her bid to reach the quarterfinals as she faces world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the round of 16 on Thursday, June 18.
Rybakina, the reigning WTA Finals and Australian Open champion, totes an impressive 32-9 record for 2026. – Rappler.com