Every game seems to be a defining moment in Alex Ila’s remarkable development.
Trailing 1-5 in the second set, Ila cruised to an impressive victory over defending champion Leila Fernandez, defeating the Filipino-Canadian left-hander 6-2, 7-6 (1) in the second round of the 2026 Mubadala DC Open in Washington DC early Thursday morning (Philippine time).
With the win, the 21-year-old Filipino advanced to the quarterfinals and is tied with the 2021 US Open finalists at one win apiece.
Fernandes had won their only previous encounter, 6-1, 6-4, in the opening round of the Stuttgart Open in April.
This time, however, Ila took control from the beginning.
Eala regained the form he showed in his opening match win over Zheng Qinwen and got off to a fast start again by breaking Fernandes in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. The Filipino quickly consolidated his advantage with a comfortable hold and extended his lead to 3-0.
After gaining a foothold in the fourth game with the first hold of the match, the Canadian star threatened to turn the tide in the next game, earning a break point on Ila’s serve. However, the world No. 28 held his chance with determination and escaped with a decisive hold to maintain his third straight cushion at 4-1.
Both players continued to play solidly on serve in the next two games, keeping the score at 5-2 before Ila clinched the first set. Ila broke Fernandez for the second time in the eighth game and closed out the opener 6-2 in another clinical comeback game.
The biggest difference in Iara’s smooth play was the number of unforced errors she committed, with only four compared to Fernandes’ 14.
The second set started evenly, with both players holding serve through the first two games. Although Eara remained tied on the scoreboard, she largely took control early in the second game, holding off the 23-year-old in a hard-fought 17-point break point before the reigning champion ran away to hold.
Fernandes carried that momentum into his next match, defeating Eara for the first time, winning 2-1. The Canadian continued to control play from the baseline, supporting breaks with comfortable holds in games four and six, and adding a break of serve in game five to build a commanding 5-1 advantage.
However, Ila refused to falter and held on in the seventh and ninth games, breaking Fernandez for the first time in the set between and leading three games in a row, closing the gap to 5-4 and forcing the Canadian to serve out.
And once again, Ira delivered another trademark moment. Holding the lead on Fernandez’s serve, Ila broke for the third time in the set to take a 6-5 lead, but the reigning champion responded with a break of his own to force a tiebreak.
But the momentum was definitely tilting in Ila’s favor. The 21-year-old stormed to a 3-0 lead at the breaker and never looked back, leading a rally that ended in a dominant 7-1 run, completing yet another remarkable comeback.
The win leaves Aira in the last eight awaiting the winner of the round of 16 between second seeds Elina Svitolina and Polina Kudermetova.
