Alex Eala, Zeynep Sonmez ousted in Madrid Open doubles

April 27 ------ SENT packing in Madrid were best friends and doubles partners Alex Eala and Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez, as they lost to second-seeded Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova, 1-6, 7-5.

The young guns didn’t stand a chance against the doubles world No. 2 and No. 5’s strong start. They were able to squeeze in a game in the third game, but the veterans were quick on their feet to regain control. The following set saw a different story, with ties at 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5, as the younger pair made a gallant attempt to stretch the match.

The Czech-American duo, however, showed maturity to take it away in an extended set within an hour and 10 minutes in the round of 16 of the women’s doubles play. Eala also made a round two exit in the singles play last Friday night. She will next take her act to the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, another WTA 1000 clay tournament. The campaign marked the end of her third clay tournament, following Linz and Stuttgart.

Source: spin.ph

Editor’s note

Alex Eala succumbed to Belgium’s Elise Mertens, WTA no. 21, 2-6, 1-6, ending her stint at the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open in Spain last Friday night. This capped off her third clay tournament following a second-round exit in Linz and a first-round exit in Stuttgart. Eala, WTA No. 44, now moves to a 2-3 win-loss record and a 0-2 personal head-to-head against the doubles world No. 1.