Julia Christine Botin

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Dyan Castillejo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1785648104541950x633 1 (4).png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrates after winning a women&#x27;s singles match against Naomi Osaka of Japan on day six of the Mubadala DC Open 2026 at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on August 01, 2026 in Washington, DC. Emilee Chinn, Getty Images/AFP </div>WASHINGTON D.C. — Celebrating the win over Naomi Osaka will have to wait a bit as Alex Eala gets set for the final against Jessica Pegula on Sunday noon time in Washington D.C (Monday midnight in Manila).The Finals time was moved earlier due to a rain forecast Sunday afternoon.After defeating four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the final of the Mubadala DC Open, Eala bared her next priority before tomorrow’s finals.&quot;It&#x27;s tough to let it sink in. I think my first priority right now is recovery. I still have one more match and then maybe I&#x27;ll have time to enjoy a little bit more,&quot; she said.The win was a dominant one for the Filipina against the former world no. 1.&quot;I think I was able to be aggressive and play on my terms a lot of the time. The intensity on my legs was also pretty good. And just the mental fortitude.”“I felt pretty strong out there,&quot; she said.Her returning stood out in particular.Eala repeatedly stepped inside the baseline to attack Osaka&#x27;s second serve, a deliberate and brave tactic against one of the best servers on tour.&quot;I think I had a good return day today. Of course, you always want to try to return well. But I think today I had a couple of really good ones. She&#x27;s obviously a great server, so yeah, I think it helped a lot,&quot; she said.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/8/2/tennis-mubadala-dc-open-alex-eala-naomi-osaka-result-0512">READ: Alex Eala through to DC Open finals after beating Naomi Osaka </a></div>Eala also spoke about how well she was feeling the ball throughout the match.&quot;Today was one of the days I was feeling the ball quite well,&quot; she said simply.Standing between her and the title now is top seed Jessica Pegula—seeded 1 in the tournament and a player Eala lost to in Miami 2025.When asked about her ability to flip the script against top players, Eala said: &quot;That doesn&#x27;t always happen. You never know.”“There&#x27;s always a chance for me to win. There&#x27;s always a chance for me to lose. So I&#x27;m just going to do what I can control and that&#x27;s give my 100%,&quot; she said.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/8/2/for-jessica-pegula-alex-eala-phenomenon-awesome-for-the-sport-1219">For Jessica Pegula, Alex Eala phenomenon &#x27;awesome for the sport&#x27;</a></div>

Celebrating the win over Naomi Osaka will have to wait a bit as Alex Eala gets set for the final against Jessica Pegula on Sunday noon time in Washington D.C.

Celebrating the win over Naomi Osaka will have to wait a bit as Alex Eala gets set for the final against Jessica Pegula on Sunday noon time in Washington D.C.

Alex Eala credits return, mental fortitude in win over Osaka

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Alex Eala credits return, mental fortitude in win over Osaka

Dyan Castillejo,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 02, 2026 01:24 PM PHT

Read More:

Alex Eala

Mubadala DC Open

Jessica Pegula

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