Alex Eala, a Filipina tennis talent, lost in the WTA 125 quarterfinals in China on Friday. She fought hard against Swiss veteran Viktorija Golubic.
Eala fell in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6(0)-7, after a tight tiebreak when she failed to score.
Eala, who is 20 years old, began out strong in the first set. She lost the first two games, but she promptly won the next six to win the set, 6–2.
But Golubic got into a groove in the second set. The 32-year-old Swiss player quickly took a 4-0 lead, but Eala was able to win one game. Golubic nevertheless won the set, 6-2, to tie the match.
The last set was very exciting. After Eala made it 3-3, Golubic took the lead with a score of 5-3. Eala showed her battling spirit by getting back to 6-5, but Golubic made it a tiebreak.
The momentum changed entirely in the tiebreak. Eala had a hard time and quickly went down 0-4. She never got better after that, which let Golubic move on to the semifinals.
Even though she lost badly, Eala showed skill and toughness throughout the event. She beat Katarzyna Kawa from Poland and Greet Minnen from Belgium in earlier rounds before making it to the quarterfinals.
Eala is currently ranked World No. 58, and she is still showing promise as one of the rising talents in women’s tennis. Her success in Suzhou shows that she can compete closely with players who are higher-ranked and have more experience.
At the same time, Golubic, who is ranked 70th in the world, advances on to the semifinals to play Tatjana Maria of Germany. Maria moved on since her opponent dropped out.
Eala may not be in the Suzhou Open, but her fighting attitude gives fans faith that she will do better in future competitions.
