Early exit once more as Eala bows out of Guangzhou Open

Sports

ANOTHER tournament, another early exit.

Alex Eala crumbled at the finish and suffered another early exit as she bowed to unseeded American Claire Liu, 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, in the opening round of the Guangzhou Open in China on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

Hopes were high for the Filipina athlete coming into the match after she moved up to career-high No. 53 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

Eala, however, failed big time against a heavy underdog opponent.

The 20-year-old Eala, seeded fourth in the tournament, played true to form early and ended the first set with a one-sided decision.

Eala built a 4-2 lead in the second set but suddenly lost steam, allowing Liu, ranked 305th in the world, to force a deciding set. For a while, Eala appeared ready to atone herself from the second-set flop when she surged to a 3-1 lead in the decider.

Eala was still ahead, 4-3, when disaster struck as she came up empty while Liu won the next three frames, sealing the Filipina’s heartbreaking debacle.

The loss marked the third straight time that Eala suffered an early elimination after also losing in the qualifiers of the W100 Wuhan Open and in the first round of the WTA250 Japan Open.

Eala now sets her sights on the tournament's doubles event where she will be partnering with Ukrainian partner Nadiia Kichenok.(CCM)