Alex Eala always believes that the fight was there. In fact, long before she became one of the brightest stars in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) circuit, the 21-year-old Filipina already possessed the competitive fire that pushed her through difficult matches.

This time, however, she finally displayed the weapon that matches that mindset.

Eala pulled off a shocker as she beat Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen of China, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the Round of 32 of the Washington Open at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on Wednesday (Manila time), proving that she is no longer a promising prospect but a legitimate title contender who deserves a seat at the table of the world’s best tennis players.

After a slow start, Eala stormed back, pulling off a gutsy win in the second set before completely gaining control and going for the kill in the third to secure one of the biggest wins in her professional career.

“I think I’ve already had that in me. I think it’s definitely a mindset that you have,” Eala said, emphasizing that she refused to panic when she found herself trailing the Chinese powerhouse early on.

“That being said, I think it’s been trained or I’ve practiced. I’ve had more experience now to implement that mindset at the higher level.”

Coming off a historic grass-court campaign in which she defeated two Top 10 players in the WTA rankings and reached the Round of 16 of the Wimbledon Championships, Eala said the experience and confidence she gained over the past few months have only amplified her hunger to win more titles, whether in the United States or elsewhere in the near future.

“That just comes also with the level of my tennis getting higher because you always want to win, and you always want to fight,” Eala said. “But I think now, with the progress I’ve had this past year, I have a bit more ammunition to back it up.”

Eala added that breaking Zheng’s serve at the start of the second set was crucial to her comeback and gave her the confidence to go all out and secure the victory.

“I definitely think it helped,” Eala said.

“Maybe if I hadn’t gotten that break, who knows? Maybe it would have been too big of a gap. You never know in tennis, but that definitely helped me, I think.”

But the battle is far from done. Eala is facing Filipino-Canadian Leylah Fernandez at press time for a spot in the quarterfinal and a major bump in her ranking points that will improve her current WTA status of 28th.

“She’s (Fernandez) known to be a fighter and have a really good mentality on court. I know I’ll have to bring what I have,” Eala said.

Meanwhile, the so-called “Eala Effect” is being felt in Washington.

Tournament chairman Mark Ein revealed that the Filipina has become the biggest attraction among fans, a remarkable feat considering the tournament features several of the sport’s biggest stars.

“I’ll start with this: over the last month, the Ticket Dig team says at least 80 percent — if not more — of the ticket requests for this tournament have been about Alex Eala. Virtually all of the requests have been about her,” Ein said in a news briefing.

“If you look at the amazing players here and how many great stars are competing, it really says something about Alex’s following. Obviously, she’s become an icon not only in the Philippines but around the world. There are Filipinos everywhere.”

During her post-game interview, a court reporter sought her reaction about her growing popularity.

Eala, however, humbly brushed off the question and gave credit to the love and support of her countrymen around the world.

“No, I think the question should be rephrased; it’s what it’s like to be a Filipino,” she said.