MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala’s remarkable run in the WTA 125 Workday Canberra International ended on Friday, January 3, as she crashed out of the semifinals.
The Filipina teen standout fell to Wei Sijia of China, 7-5, 6-2, a loss that put an end to Eala’s campaign at the Canberra International Tennis Centre which saw her survive the qualifying rounds to make the main draw and reach the first WTA 125 semifinals of her career.
Eala was playing her sixth match in six days, including a three-setter in Thursday’s quarterfinals against Australian hometown bet Taylah Preston. Wei, on the other hand, breezed through the first three rounds by winning all her matches in straight sets.
The world No. 148 Eala managed to keep in step with the 134th-ranked Wei in the tightly contested opening set which lasted 54 minutes.
The first eight games of the first set saw Eala and Wei break each other three times each and battle on even terms with the score knotted at 4-4. The 19-year-old Eala tasted the lead for the last time when she held serve in the ninth game, but the 21-year-old Wei swept the next three games to claim the first set.
The second set saw a fresher Wei stamp her dominance in the match as the Chinese shifted to a higher gear and raced to a 5-0 lead.
Eala made a last-ditch attempt to rally by pocketing the next two games, only to witness Wei seal the deal in the eighth game and finish the match in an hour and a half.
Despite the loss, Eala will still have a lot to get out of the event, including a possible bump in her world ranking.
Also, Eala also used the WTA 125 Canberra as part of her buildup for the Australian Open qualifiers set from January 6 to 9. the Filipina teen will be among the 128 players vying for 16 spots in the main draw of the first Grand Slam event of the year. – Rappler.com
