Alex Eala exits W25 Madrid after quarterfinals loss

Alex Eala in the W25 Madrid. –ALEX EALA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala bowed to her doubles partner, Alice Robbe of France, 6-7(3), 3-6, in the quarterfinals of W25 Madrid tournament on Friday at Ciudad de la Raqueta in Spain.

The 17-year-old Filipino tennis star pushed the No.8 seed Robbe to her limits in the first set, but her French partner caught fire in the second frame to march into the semifinals.

Robbe, World Tennis Association No.331, withstood the tough challenge of the World No.419 Eala in the first set, which reached a tiebreak.

The 22-year-old French used a 5-0 start in the second set and never looked back to move on to the next round.

Eala and Robbe suffered a quarterfinals exit in the W25 Madrid doubles last Wednesday, losing to Zoe Hives of Australia and Katherine Sebov of Canada, 0-6, 4-6.

The Rafael Nadal Academy won her first two matches before bombing out of contention. She turned back Romania’s Arina Gabriela Vasilescu of Romania in the first round, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, and beat No. 4 seed Xiaodi You of China in the second round, 6-4, 6-2.

It was Eala’s first tournament back after the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, where she won three bronze medals in singles, team event, and mixed doubles.

The Filipino prodigy has two pro championships in the W15 Manacor tourney in Spain last year and in the W25 Chiang Rai championship in Thailand in April.