Once again, Alex Eala was the darling of the crowd in Auckland as she battled Donna Vekic in the Round of 32 at the ASB Classic.
Alex Eala has been the crowd favorite in every tournament she plays since catapulting herself to stardom at the Miami Open last year.
As she began her 2026 season in Auckland, New Zealand at the ASB Classic, it was more of the same as scores of Filipinos flocked to the ASB Tennis Center even as her match against Donna Vekic lasted until late in the evening on Tuesday.
After winning a tightly-contested Round of 32 match, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, Eala made sure to express her gratitude to all the fans that came out to support her.
[READ: Alex Eala bucks pain to win 3-set thriller over Donna Vekic at ASB Classic]
“It's so special. And if there's one thing I've learned in 2025, it's that home is a people and not a place. So, thank you everyone. Maraming salamat,” she said during her on-court interview.
Tried and Tested
Even as she came out victorious, it was hardly a walk in the park for the 20-year-old, who had to dig deep against the Paris 2024 Olympics silver medalist.
In the opening set, Eala was ahead 3-0 before she ended up losing, 4-6.
After powering through the second set, 6-4, she also needed to recover from some pain. Eala needed to take a medical timeout a few minutes before the deciding third set unfurled before 10:00 p.m. in Auckland.
After the match, Eala said that it was a great experience for her being able to go toe-to-toe with Vekic, who had a career-high ranking of world no. 17.
Being able to eke out the tough win despite falling behind early, Eala was satisfied with her performance.
“Like you said, she's such an experienced player and super talented and definitely very decorated," she said.
"So, I really had a tough time today, but I'm most happy about being able to compete and show up at the level like this, especially after such a tough preseason and so many things that's happened over the past month. So, I'm proud about that,” Eala added.
The Filipina battles world no. 82 Petra Marcinko in the Round of 16 next.
Eala also moved on to the quarterfinals in the women’s doubles tournament with American partner Iva Jovic.
[RELATED: Alex Eala, Iva Jovic drub Elina Svitolina, Venus Williams in ASB Classic doubles]
She and Jovic will battle one her of former doubles partners, Renata Zarazúa, and Jesika Malecková in the next round.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.