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It’s a sorry exit for Alex Eala after surviving two grueling matches in the qualifying rounds of the UK tournament
MANILA, Philippines – There was no three-setter this time around, although Alex Eala managed to hang tough in a closely fought match where she had her fair share of opportunities to win.
Unfortunately, the Filipina youngster could not capitalize on her chances, leading to a 6-4, 6-3 defeat at the hands of sixth seed Magda Linette of France on Tuesday, June 17, in the opening round of the WTA 250 Lexus Nottingham Open in the United Kingdom.
The world No. 77 Eala showed no signs of weariness from the grind of the past three days where she played two straight three-setters, coming in hot and zooming to a 3-0 lead against the stunned world No. 31 Linette.
But the French veteran, who made the semifinals of the 2023 Australian Open and reached the third round of the three other Grand Slams, displayed her pedigree as she slowly found her rhythm and got herself back in the match.
Linette blanked Eala in the next five games to storm ahead, 5-3. The 20-year-old Filipina made one final stand and captured one more game to keep the score close, but the 33-year-old Linette held serve in the 10th game to gain a one-set advantage.
Eala held break points twice In each of the last three games that Linette served in the first set, indicative of how close the first set was, which took 51 minutes to finish.
However, the Filipina tennis standout could not cross it over to the end and break her French rival.
The second set was another fiercely fought battle with the two rivals remaining locked at 2-2. Linette showed her superiority when it mattered most, breaking Eala in the fifth and seventh games to go up 5-2.
Eala, though, was not going away easily, fighting back by breaking Linette in the eighth game.
Needing to hold serve in the ninth to stay in the match, Eala found herself under duress from the relentless Linette who was determined to finish the match.
Eala saved four match points, but eventually succumbed in the fifth match point as Linette eliminated the Filipina after an hour and 43 minutes at Court 2 of the Nottingham Tennis Centre.
It was a sorry exit for Eala, who had to go through two grueling matches in the qualifying rounds over the weekend right after losing in the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 Ilkley Open on Friday.
She defeated former world No. 39 Varvara Gracheva of France in the first round of the qualifiers on Saturday, then overcame No. 88 Anca Todoni of Romania on Sunday. – Rappler.com
