The Base Line: Fritz continues improved run of form as Eala makes history in Washington

[h2]Title Winners [/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fritz-taylor/UH09iaZ6/"]Taylor Fritz[/a] clinched his 11th ATP Tour title on Monday at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, as he defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jodar-rafael/OdngshVK/"]Rafael Jodar[/a] - who was in his first ATP 500 final - [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/fritz-t-UH09iaZ6/jodar-r-OdngshVK/?mid=61M0PUfR"]7-6(2), 6-4[/a]. It was the first time in four years that Fritz won a title above ATP 250 level.[/p][p]Fritz eventually sealed the win on his fifth match point after one hour and 49 minutes in a final that was pushed to Monday due to rain on Sunday. Fritz's last win at this level came in Tokyo in 2022, the same year he won his only ATP Masters 1000 crown in Indian Wells.[/p][embed guid="f9cd6a8d-a127-4a2f-a7ab-cfc550b292b0" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4AXzTrC9Ls" social-type="youtube" /][p]The American has endured an injury-hit 2026 season, with his knee tendinitis playing up at the end of March, forcing him to miss all three clay-court Masters 1000 events. However, he bounced back strongly in the grass-court season by reaching the finals of Halle and Stuttgart as well as the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, where he lost to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zverev-alexander/dGbUhw9m/"]Alexander Zverev.[/a][/p][p]Meanwhile, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eala-alexandra/ppu9X7PH/"]Alexandra Eala[/a] made history by becoming the first Filipino to win a WTA singles title, as she beat top seed and world number three [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pegula-jessica/KdojxrAR/"]Jessica Pegula[/a] in Washington, coming from behind to claim a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/eala-a-ppu9X7PH/pegula-j-KdojxrAR/?mid=KKxml2cn"]4-6, 6-4, 6-0[/a] victory in a rain-interrupted final.[/p][embed guid="3508a0f3-46e1-4cc7-b0d5-b5494dc8821a" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvjNXy1mQjY" social-type="youtube" /][p]Eala went through the tournament in impressive fashion, beating three seeds in four rounds: number two seed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-elina/jyngIesG/"]Elina Svitolina[/a], number three seed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osaka-naomi/MDM4BKiA/"]Naomi Osaka[/a], as well as number seven seed and defending champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-leylah-annie/8EI3pJOd/"]Leylah Fernandez[/a]. She also saw off 2024 Olympic champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zheng-qinwen/xCyEhjAS/"]Qinwen Zheng[/a] on her way to the final. [/p][p]The match was suspended on Sunday night with Pegula leading 6-4, 1-2. However, Eala came out blazing to win 10 ‌of the 13 games played after the restart on Monday. She raced through the decider as fearless baseline hitting stifled Pegula while Eala enjoyed plenty of passionate support from a partisan crowd, despite Pegula, who was chasing her second Washington title, playing on home soil.[/p][p]Elsewhere, Frenchman [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gea-arthur/M5Nr6FTR/"]Arthur Gea[/a] won his first ATP title and became the youngest man to win the Mifel Tennis Open in Los Cabos (an ATP 250 tournament) with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/gea-a-M5Nr6FTR/shapovalov-d-zXddgn9o/?mid=YoyvKzvo"]6-3, 6-4[/a] victory over Canada's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shapovalov-denis/zXddgn9o/"]Denis ​Shapovalov[/a] on Saturday evening.[/p][p]The 21-year-old Gea had just won three matches at tour level before winning five matches this week.[/p][embed guid="56edc1d9-c1b4-47a8-8a3f-016b2ab2bc82" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqydFqmp2_0" social-type="youtube" /][p]Over in Memphis, 16-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/liutova-kristina/tnW3NSdC/"]Kristina Liutova[/a] also claimed the biggest triumph of her career, winning the 250 tournament after a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/liutova-k-tnW3NSdC/vidmanova-d-lAVWhl4h/?mid=ITH450pC"]1-6, 6-1, 6-3[/a] victory over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vidmanova-darja/lAVWhl4h/"]Darja Vidmanova[/a] in the final. She became the youngest player to clinch a WTA singles title since [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gauff-coco/f5BXmEH6/"]Coco Gauff[/a] won the Linz Open as a 15-year-old in 2019.[/p][embed guid="aa4750a1-23c2-4f40-9a5e-ad7cccc79825" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCRF1ANr-F8" social-type="youtube" /][h2]Biggest strugglers[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tauson-clara/2PPTHPya/"]Clara Tauson[/a] needs to do something, and do something quickly, if she's not going to continue her fall from grace during the North American hard court season.[/p][p]Tauson's difficult 2026 tennis season has been primarily driven by persistent physical problems and a subsequent loss of match rhythm, which have haunted her performances. [/p][p]The Dane, who has dropped to 30th in the WTA World rankings, has a heavy points load to defend during the hard-court season. She earned strong results during this stretch last year, meaning she must match those deep runs to maintain her current ranking position.[/p][p]However, she got off to a poor start in Washington when she lost a titanic battle in the first round against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cocciaretto-elisabetta/pA0aW3EL/"]Elisabetta Cocciaretto[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/cocciaretto-e-pA0aW3EL/tauson-c-2PPTHPya/?mid=rVH8WbbE"]6-4, 6-7(2), 6-7(2)[/a].[/p][image alt="Tauson's recent results" id="c7b6d91a-e328-4686-b859-56f805bdda7c" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="ab542592-e8c1-4d5d-896f-ee9ac22cc59f" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p]Olympic champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zheng-qinwen/xCyEhjAS/"]Zheng[/a] is also struggling to recapture her old form following elbow surgery last season. Her uncompromising philosophy and determination have become both her greatest strength and her biggest challenge, and in Washington, she squandered a one-set advantage before [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/eala-a-ppu9X7PH/zheng-q-xCyEhjAS/?mid=OOaqC9e2"]falling to Eala in the first round[/a]. [/p][p]While Fritz went on to win the title in Washington, two of the biggest names in American tennis, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/paul-tommy/pd3ye1BS/"]Tommy Paul[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tiafoe-frances/AHDLJaph/"]Frances Tiafoe[/a], suffered surprising early-round exits in the US capital.[/p][p]Paul, who reached the final in Hamburg and at Queen's earlier in the year, suffered a surprising straight-sets defeat to Poland's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/majchrzak-kamil/fPZlNrGS/"]Kamil Majchrzak[/a], losing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/majchrzak-k-fPZlNrGS/paul-t-pd3ye1BS/?mid=St8oeNJH"]5-7, 6-7(4)[/a] in the opening round.[/p][p]Tiafoe's run in Washington came to a stunning end at the hands of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/atmane-terence/6mkEQ279/"]Terence Atmane[/a], losing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/atmare-t-6mkEQ279/tiafoe-f-AHDLJaph/?mid=hQjR703N"]6-4, 3-6, 4-6[/a]. [/p][h2]Standout moment[/h2][p]17-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hewitt-cruz/pOQrEMUs/"]Cruz Hewitt[/a], son of former world number one [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hewitt-lleyton/t4WYF3mC/"]Lleyton Hewitt[/a], was the man of the moment last week on the professional tour after securing his breakthrough maiden ATP main-draw win in Washington.[/p][p]Emulating his father's iconic fist-pump celebration 22 years after Lleyton won the same Washington tournament, Hewitt, who reached the boys' singles final at Wimbledon in July, defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/giron-marcos/OWOgryOk/"]Marcos Giron[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/giron-m-OWOgryOk/hewitt-c-pOQrEMUs/?mid=j3kaYLeL"]6-3, 6-4[/a] for his maiden tour-level win.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/de-minaur-alex/EZgZ9Xfh/"]Alex De Minaur[/a] brought his fairytale campaign to an end in the round of 16 in an all-Australian matchup. [/p][embed guid="755af34e-d792-43a7-812c-da2a49494b07" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2082193071744176548" social-type="twitter" /][p]Hewitt was the youngest player to win a match at the Washington tournament since [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nishikori-kei/YNkOjUIB/"]Kei Nishikori[/a] in 2007, thereby moving up the ATP rankings, where he is currently ranked 370th.[/p][p]Historically, the only other former world number one with a son (Leo) who has won an ATP-level match is Bjorn Borg. [/p][h2]Best rallies[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tabilo-alejandro/YgVnM5vO/"]Alejandro Tabilo[/a] produced one of the greatest shots of the season when he hit a super tweener lob to turn the momentum in an incredible rally against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shelton-ben/QNuG0Gzb/"]Ben Shelton[/a] in Washington.[/p][embed guid="2ba4659c-3392-43d3-8b12-8bd2dac84a31" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2083379424896921615" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/monfils-gael/fm7G8o0m/"]Gael Monfils[/a] is currently playing his final season on the ATP Tour, having officially announced that he will retire at the end of 2026. However, the Frenchman showed that he hasn't lost his edge in this amazing, extensive rally, which he finished off with a clinical forehand winner against Poland's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/majchrzak-kamil/fPZlNrGS/"]Kamil Majchrzak[/a].[/p][embed guid="ff02288b-82a1-4483-bf7c-69c937722d41" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2084479459038548149" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Upcoming events[/h2][p]The North American hard-court swing continues in Canada this week.[/p][p]With major stars like [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Jannik Sinner[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alcaraz-garfia-carlos/UkhgIFEq/"]Carlos Alcaraz[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/djokovic-novak/AZg49Et9/"]Novak Djokovic[/a] withdrawing from the Masters 1000 event, the top of the bracket is wide open as [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zverev-alexander/dGbUhw9m/"]Alexander Zverev[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/auger-aliassime-felix/CzXh4LAb/"]Felix Auger-Aliassime[/a] - who can enjoy the luxury of playing in front of a home crowd - spearhead the men's singles draw as the top two seeds for the 2026 National Bank Open in Montreal.[/p][p]Following a month-long break after an early exit at Wimbledon, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Aryna Sabalenka[/a] will return to action as the prime of women's tennis prepares to do battle at the WTA 1000 event in Toronto. The competitive field includes nine of the top 10 players in the world, with defending champion [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mboko-victoria/AqVez8TJ/"]Victoria Mboko[/a] the only major player absent due to injury. [/p][p][b]Follow the action in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/atp-singles/montreal/"]Montreal[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/tennis/wta-singles/toronto/"]Toronto[/a] with Flashscore![/b][/p]