Alex Eala throughout a singles match at Oeiras Women Open in Portugal. –Picture from fptennis through Alex Eala Instagram
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala ended her Oeiras Women Open stint with a 6(4)-7, 4-6 loss to Panna Udvardy of Hungary within the spherical of 16 on Thursday (Manila time) in Portugal.
READ: Alex Eala continues profession rise, climbs to world No. 73
After a rallying begin, Eala surrendered a 4-1 lead within the second set as Udvardy stormed again to win 5 straight video games and full the comeback of their Girls’s Tennis Affiliation (WTA) 125 match in Portugal.
The 19-year-old Filipino tennis star confirmed grit within the opening set, erasing a 1-3 deficit to power a tiebreaker. The Filipino took an early 2-1 lead within the tie breaker however couldn’t preserve tempo as Udvardy, ranked No. 137, surged forward to take the set.
Eala entered the event driving excessive after a breakthrough semifinal run within the Miami Open en path to her finest profession end in a WTA 1000 occasion and highest WTA rating ever at World No. 73.
The Oeiras Women Open is the primary event of Eala’s clay season, the place she is predicted to compete within the French Open principal draw.
In her first match since Miami, she swept Anouk Koevermans of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-4, in a rain-delayed match.
Her doubles stint additionally ended within the spherical of 16 after Eala and Katie Volynets obtained swept by fourth-seeded Individuals Christina Rosca and Carmen Corley, 3-6, 4-6.
Volynets is one in all Eala’s opponents in that Miami Open run the place she turned by taking down by three Grand Slam champions.
The Filipino tennis sensation will shift her focus to the WTA 1000 within the Madrid Open beginning on April 21.
