April 26 ------ Alex Eala came up short against world No. 30 Sorana Cirstea, absorbing a 6-3, 6-7 (8), 6-4 loss, in the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open in Spain.
The 18-year-old Eala put up a gallant stand against her 27th-seeded Romanian rival by claiming the second set, only to lose her momentum in the pivotal deciding frame. Still, it was an impressive showing for Eala as Cirstea, a two-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, was the highest-ranked player the Filipino tennis sensation has ever faced in her career. Prior to the defeat, Eala claimed the scalp of world No. 41 Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, to nail her first-ever first-round victory in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA100) event. A win against Cirstea could have set her up a potential dream match with world No. Iga Swiatek of Poland, who is battling China’s Wang Xiyu at presstime.
Ranked No. 169 in the world, Eala is expected to hike her ranking following her performance in this tournament. After breaking each other’s serves in the first three games of the third set, Eala found herself holding her serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. But Cirstea’s wide experience became prevalent in the ensuing games as the 34-year-old claimed the next three to grab the 4-3 upperhand.
Eala fought back with a love game to tie it at 4-all, but the Romanian was quick to retaliate, holding back her own serve in the ninth game before breaking Eala's serve with a love game to seal the match victory.
Source: mb.com.ph