Alex Eala falls to familiar foe Lulu Sun in Jingshan semifinal

MANILA, Philippines, September 29 ------ After breezing past foes to start the tournament, Alex Eala shockingly yielded her seemingly big chance to rule the WTA 125 Jingshan Open, falling to New Zealand’s Lulu Sun, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinal.

Momentum shifted in the second set as Sun took a 4-2 lead following Eala’s 2-0 start en route to forcing a third frame. Sun then went on a tear in the finale, booting Eala down a 4-0 hole before halting the Guadalajara Open champion’s late rally to take the win. It was Sun’s second victory against Eala in their head-to-head matchup after beating the Filipino star during the 2024 Wimbledon qualifiers.

Eala entered the matchup as the top seed and was the favorite to win it all as the only WTA top 100 player in the tournament. Meanwhile, the world No. 146 Sun — with a career-high of No. 39 — advanced to the finals after bucking a slow start. The third-seeded Sun will face Chinese home bet Ye-Xin Ma after upsetting second-seeded Talia Gibson. Eala will have little time to lick her wounds as the WTA 125 Suzhou Open beckons this Monday, September 29 — this time, featuring a field of top 100 stars like No. 50 Emiliana Arango, No. 51 Hailey Baptiste, and No. 85 Kimberly Birrell.

Source: rappler.com