Alex Eala during the W80 Grenoble in France. GRENOBLE TENNIS PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–The learning curve gets sharper and sharper for the country’s top tennis hope after Alex Eala suffered a first-round loss late Wednesday in the W25 Macon championship in France.
It was fourth straight time that the 16-year-old failed to go deep in the draw as her coaching staff focuses her attention on the women’s circuit to better prepare her for top-level tennis.
Eala handily took the first set only to see Russia’s Anna Ukolova fight back and book a ticket to the second round with a 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3) triumph after two hours and 12 minutes on the indoor hard courts.
The 22-year-old Ukolova also displayed better service game, raining down 10 aces on the Filipina who managed to ace just once and yet committed 11 double faults against the Russian’s six.
Eala, the world No. 583, seemed to have recovered from losing the second set by storming to a 3-1 lead in the third but Ukolova, ranked No. 696 in the world, used her edge in experience to chip away at the deficit and forge a tiebreak.
Once again, the Filipino marched to a 3-2 lead in the tiebreak but Ukolova pounced on an Eala double fault before taking the next four points via winners and completing the reversal.
She also crashed out of the women’s doubles after she and French partner Alice Robbe dropped a 6-4, 6-2 decision to All-French pair and third seeds Aubrey Albie and Aubane Drogue in the quarterfinals.