Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 4) — Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala bowed to a tougher opponent as she ends her International Tennis Federation W25 World Tennis Tour campaign, Thursday in Manacor, Spain.
Eala failed to sustain the momentum she got in the first set as she lost to Croatia’s Jana Fett, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, in the match that lasted almost three hours.
Eala was in control of the match during the first set, as she never relinquished her lead with her timely points on serve against the Croatian.
Fett, the tournament’s third seed, made a comeback in the second set as she posted an early 2-0 lead with her straight points. But Eala continued to garner service points and retook the lead, 3-2.
The fifth game in the second set was Eala’s last stand as Fett capitalized on winning aces and points from errors to win the frame, 6-3, and force a deciding third set.
Fett’s momentum from her come-from-behind win in the second set carried in the deciding frame as she tallied a 3-0 edge over Eala. The Filipino tennis star did not give up as she got break points to trim the Croatian’s lead, until she tied the game at 5-all.
Eala almost gained a 6-5 advantage over Fett, but the Croatian sustained her nerves better with some timely shots. Fett, ranked world no. 210 in the Women’s Tennis Association singles list, eventually finished the match with a break point to advance in the tournament’s quarterfinals against Italy’s Jessica Pieri.
The loss served as Eala’s worst finish in the five professional tournaments she joined this year. She ruled the first leg of the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour W15 level competition for her maiden pro title, and had three quarterfinal finishes from the last two legs of that tour and the ITF W25 Grenoble tournament in France.
