Alexandra Eala defeats defending champion Leylah Fernandez to move into Washington quarters

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eala-alexandra/ppu9X7PH/"]Eala[/a], 21, defeated the seventh seed from Canada [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/eala-a-ppu9X7PH/fernandez-l-a-8EI3pJOd/?mid=f9aRYat4"]6-2, 7-6(1)[/a] for a place in the WTA Tour tournament's last eight, battling back from 5-1 down in an epic second set.[/p][p]It continues a breakout season for Eala, who last month made global headlines beating [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swiatek-iga/jNyZsXZe/"]Iga Swiatek[/a] at Wimbledon to become the first Filipino player to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam, and has soared to 28th in the world rankings.[/p][p]Eala took the first set 6-2, exploiting multiple unforced errors from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-leylah-annie/8EI3pJOd/"]Fernandez[/a]. The roles reversed early in the second set, which Fernandez led 5-1.[/p][embed guid="f22a5714-0c1e-4526-80f6-fc003c6b2dd4" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrLRktfS-q4" social-type="youtube" /][p]But Eala battled back to lead 6-5 before Fernandez finally held serve to force a tie-break.[/p][p]Eala stormed into a 3-0 tie-break lead. Fernandez gained a foothold after a long rally, but Eala's stunning cross-court forehand gave her five match points. She only required one.[/p][p]"[b]Everything's kind of a blur right now. I really made an effort to stay in the moment, and I was ready for anything that could have happened[/b]," said Eala.[/p][p]"[b]And luckily -- well, it wasn't a lot of luck -- but luckily it went my way[/b]."[/p][p]Fernandez had beaten Eala in straight sets in Stuttgart earlier this year.[/p][p]Victory meant Eala reaches her fifth quarter-final of a superb season, with either second-seeded Ukrainian [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-elina/jyngIesG/"]Elina Svitolina[/a] or Uzbekistan's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kudermetova-polina/8O9jYpK8/"]Polina Kudermetova[/a] awaiting in the next round.[/p][image alt="Match result" id="3fcfc3e7-d01e-441b-942d-dc2be9116503" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="0abc2926-d9ef-4879-b374-b5c306d434a6" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Eala has been tipped to become a star of the women's game since defeating Swiatek to reach the Miami Open semi-finals last year, and stoked that hype further with her recent Wimbledon run.[/p][p]She enjoys huge support from her native Philippines, where she is already the Southeast Asian nation's biggest female sports star in recent years.[/p][p]On Tuesday in Washington, DC, Eala rallied to defeat China's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zheng-qinwen/xCyEhjAS/"]Zheng Qinwen[/a] 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 after 2hr 26min.[/p][p]Women's third seed Naomi Osaka also punched her quarter-final ticket, advancing when American Ashlyn Krueger retired while trailing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/krueger-a-O81eud9p/osaka-n-MDM4BKiA/?mid=CQ1mqAAr"]6-3, 3-1[/a].[/p][embed guid="48379bf9-4c4b-442b-9be3-ad7956c503b3" url="https://x.com/TennisChannel/status/2082612850321711157?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Japan's Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion coming off a quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon, cut a confident figure on the Washington hardcourts.[/p][p]But she admitted it was hard to stay focused with Krueger still hindered after receiving treatment on her right ankle while trailing 4-1 in the first set.[/p][p][b]"It's a tough situation, and I hope that she gets better ASAP,"[/b] Osaka said.[/p][p]She'll next face Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto, who toppled eighth-seeded American Emma Navarro 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.[/p][embed guid="82fd098c-1ff8-46c8-8209-e2b68096ecc1" url="https://x.com/WTA/status/2082617302000841061?s=20" social-type="twitter" /]