Eala rallies but fizzles, loses to Swiss foe in Suzhou Tennis Open quarters

Sports

WHAT looked like a gigantic comeback came to a heartbreaking finish as Alex Eala succumbed to Swiss Viktorija Golubic, 6-2, 2-6, 6-7 (0-7), in the quarterfinal round of the Suzhou Tennis Open on Friday, Oct. 3 in China.

Ranked No. 58 in the world, Eala actually started strong, easily winning the opening set before the 32-year-old Golubic evened things up with own easy win in the second set.

The 70th-ranked Golubic sustained the momentum of her solid second-set showing when she raced to a 5-3 lead in the deciding set.

Eala showed grit, staging a major run and in a wink an eye saw herself take a crucial 6-5 lead.

Just as Eala heated up, Golubic unleashed her own dramatic ron, battling back from a 15-40 deficit in the 12th game where she saved four match points en route to forcing a tiebreak.

Eala simply ran out of ammunition as Golubic racked up seven unanswered points in the tiebreak to ice the victory.

It was the third straight tournament that Eala fell short. She was eliminated in the semifinals of the Jingshan Tennis Open also in China last week and was ousted in the quarterfinals of the Sao Paulo Open in Brazil.

Before the three empty runs, the 20-year-old Eala won her first-ever WTA singles title at the Guadalajara Open in Mexico early last month.(CCM)