Alex Eala showed grace under pressure and charged back from a set down to shock Paris Olympics silver medalist Donna Vekic of Croatia 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the Auckland Open Round of 32 on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old netter received a shower of cheers from the significant Filipino crowd that flocked inside the Manuka Doctor Arena in New Zealand to witness Eala dismantle the former world No. 17.

Every second of the two-hour, 40-minute encounter was worth it for Eala and her legion of supporters.

“It’s so special and if there is something I learned in 2025, it’s that home is the people and not the place. Maraming salamat po,” Eala said as she addressed the audience.

With momentum shifting to her side after equalizing in the second frame, Eala held all four of her serves in the first seven games and took a 4-3 advantage in the third set.

Eala broke Vekic’s serve in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead but Vekic returned the favor to extend the set.

But world No. 53 Eala won’t be denied another time after she broke her Croatian rival’s serve to seal the victory.

“She is such an experienced player, super talented and definitely decorated,” Eala said about her four-time Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) champion rival. 

“I really had a tough time today but I’m most happy about being able to compete and show up in a level like this especially after a tough preseason and so many things that happened in the past month.”

Eala went off smoking and smothered the 69th-ranked Vekic in the opening frame, racing to a 3-0 lead. The Croatian netter fired back and trimmed her deficit to 3-4.

Vekic held her serve in the eighth game, broke back in the next, before winning at serve to steal the frame.

The second frame saw Eala shatter a 3-3 deadlock by holding serve before winning another set point. Vekic recovered in the ninth game but Eala scored a break point to drag the match to a decider.

Another Croatian netter awaits Eala in the Last 16 as she takes on Petra Markovic on Thursday, with time yet to be determined.

The 20-year-old Markovic, who sits at No. 82 in the WTA rankings, dispatched former world No. 33 Camila Osorio of Colombia, 6-4, 0-6, 6-7, in their Round of 32 match.

Eala’s win came on the heels of her women’s doubles victory last Monday.

The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate joined forces with American netter and world No. 35 Iva Jovic in an upset over Grand Slam champion Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, 7-6, 6-1.

The Eala-Jovic pair will take on Jesika Malečková of the Czech Republic and Renata Zarazúa of Mexico in the quarterfinal on Thursday.

Game time is at 6:30 a.m. (Manila time).