Alex Eala reasserts mastery over Donna Vekic to kick off Berlin Tennis Open campaign

Alexandra "Alex" Eala remained a thorn in Donna Vekic’s side, claiming a 7-5, 6-4 win in the Round of 32 of the WTA 500 Berlin Tennis Open on Wednesday in Germany.

The 21-year-old Eala now holds a 3-0 head-to-head record against the Croatian star, whom she defeated in the ASB Classic and Kooyong Classic exhibition earlier this year.

Eala also dealt Vekic an early exit just after the latter ruled the HSBC Championships last week. The win allowed Eala to advance to the Round of 16 where she will face world No. 2 Elena Rybakina.

"I told myself that she's fighting back, but I'm also a fighter so I have to try. I have to give her a hard time," Eala said.

"Donna is an incredible player. She's been showcasing it a lot lately and every time I play her, it's been very difficult so I had a lot of expectations for this match in terms of the level that I had to bring in and I'm happy with the intensity."

The Filipina superstar, currently ranked No. 35 in the world, stared at an early 0-2 deficit but regained her rhythm to win the next four games, creating a 4-2 lead over the world No. 33 foe in Set 1.

However, Vekic, a familiar face to the Filipino community after seeing action in the inaugural Philippine Women's Open last January, forced a 5-all deadlock to keep Eala within striking distance.

Vekic, though, went wide on her forehand return as Eala stole the opening frame in an extended fashion.

Eala kept her momentum going in Set 2, firing an ace to clinch a 4-2 lead. A nearly 15-minute lull then occurred when a spectator required medical attention while Eala held a 40-30 lead in the eighth game.

After the pause, Eala quickly capitalized on an attack error from Vekic to seize the match point at 5-3. Vekic would remain alive after clinching the next point, but Eala fought through an extended affair in the next game and unloaded back-to-back aces to finish off the Croatian bet.

Eala will now have a rematch against Rybakina in the next round with the Filipina hoping to pull off a major upset against the second-seeded star from Kazakhstan.

—JKC, GMA News