FILE–Alexandra Eala of the Philippines. –Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala bowed out of the Lexus Birmingham Open after falling short to Czechia’s Linda Fruhvirtova, 5-7, 7-6(5), 1-6, on early Wednesday (Manila time) in the United Kingdom.
Eala opened her grass campaign on the wrong foot as she got dominated by Fruhvirtova in the third set after a grueling two-hour and 53-minute duel.
READ: Alex Eala vows comeback after French Open singles loss
Eala, currently the World No. 73, came up short in the tight opening set, but she got the better of the Czech netter in the second where she crawled her way back from a 2-5 deficit in the tiebreak to force a decider.
But the Rafa Nadal Academy product lost steam as the World No.152 Fruhvirtova completed the upset to advance to the next round.
Eala also suffered from a first round exit in the Women’s Tennis Association 125 doubles as she and Swiss partner Rebeka Masarova yielded to Australia’s Ellen Perez and Storm Hunter, 4-6, 4-6, on Monday (Manila time).
READ: Alex Eala sees ‘new era’ for PH sports after French Open match win
The 20-year-old Filipino tennis sensation went straight to Birmingham after a first-round exit in her French Open debut, where she fell to Emiliana Arango, 0-6, 6-2, 3-6.
She also competed in the Roland Garros doubles with Renata Zarazua and reached the second round only to be defeated by Olga Danilovic and Anastasia Potapova, 1-6, 3-6.
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