Alex Eala ends Sao Paulo Open run after loss to Indonesia’s Janice Tjen

MANILA, Philippines, September 15 ------ The grind seemed to have caught up with Alex Eala. Eala looked worn out as she exited the WTA 250 Sao Paulo Open in Brazil following a 6-4, 6-1 loss to fellow Southeast Asian history maker Janice Tjen of Indonesia in the quarterfinals at the Villa-Lobos State Park.

Playing in her eighth match in less than two weeks, third seed Eala blew a 3-0 start and succumbed to the big-hitting Tjen, who advanced to a WTA Tour semifinal for the first time in her career. Climbing out of that early hole, Tjen fired 23 winners against just 4 by Eala as the Indonesian won 12 of the next 14 games to stun the world No. 61 Filipina.

Eala remained within striking distance when she got on break point for a chance to tie the second set at 2-2, but her return on the next play went straight to the net and then Tjen fired an ace and a forehand volley winner in succession to hold serve and grab a 3-1 lead. There was no stopping the underdog Tjen from there as the world No. 130 wrapped up the match in 1 hour and 12 minutes.

Eala saved a match point, but that only stalled Tjen, who clinched the victory with back-to-back forehand winners. “I’m pretty happy with how I played today,” said Tjen. “Playing against Alex Eala, we all know that she can come back any time. I’m just trying to focus and stay in it up until the end.”

The loss snapped a seven-match winning streak by Eala as her bid for a second straight title following her breakthrough triumph in the WTA 125 Guadalajara Open in Mexico came to an end. After winning all of her five matches in Mexico, Eala brought her fine form to Brazil as she beat France’s Yasmine Mansouri and Argentina’s Julia Riera in the first two rounds to arrange a clash between two Southeast Asian trailblazers with Tjen.

The two scored breakthroughs for their respective countries in the recent US Open, with Eala becoming the first Filipino to win a Grand Slam main draw match in the Open era when she shocked Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the opening round. Tjen also earned then the first Grand Slam win by an Indonesian in 22 years following her upset of Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova. Now, it is Tjen who marches on to make more history for her country as she became the first Indonesian to reach a WTA semifinal since Angelique Widjaja ruled the now-defunct Pattaya Open in Thailand in 2002. Tjen faces sixth seed Francesca Jones of Great Britain next for a spot in the finale.

Source: rappler.com