MANILA – Filipina tennis star Alex Eala failed to progress to the next round of the Oeiras Ladies Open after faltering to an unseeded opponent in the second round in Portugal.
The 19-year-old Eala, who was the top-seed in the tournament, struggled in her clay court debut as she bowed to Panna Udvardy of Hungary, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
“I know what I have to improve. Clay challenging for me, I grew up on hard courts, but I think that I can play as well on clay as I play on hardcourts,” Eala said in a post-game interview.
After a tight opening set defeat, Eala responded with a strong start in the second frame by winning the first two matches against Udvardy, who was seven years older than her opponent.
The Hungarian netter relief on her experience and kept the match close and later tied the score at 4-all behind her aggressive shots before competing the comeback win by taking the last two games.
Before the defeat, Eala opened her campaign by defeating Dutch Anouk Koevermans, 6-3, 6-4, in a match that took two days to complete due to unplayable condition.
Eala’s defeat also came a day after she and partner Katie Volynets lost to the fourth seed tandem of Carmen Corley and Christina Rosca, 6-3, 6-4, in the doubles’ opening round.
Up next for Eala is the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open, her second clay event serving as buildup for the French Open./PN
