Eala falls to Russian pal, exits Joue les Tours in Round of 16

MANILA, Philippines, March 4 ------ Alex Eala could not move on to the quarterfinals of the W25 Joue les Tours in France after falling to Russia's Oksana Selekhmeteva on Thursday (early Friday morning, Manila time).

Selekhmeteva, seeded second in the tournament, dispatched Eala in two sets, 6-3, 6-3. Eala played at pace with the 19-year-old, with whom she won the 2021 Rolland Garros Girls' Doubles title, in the beginning of the match as they were in deadlock, 3-3, in the opening set. But the Russian broke Eala's serve in the seventh game which triggered a momentum change. Selekhmeteva ended up winning three straight games to take the 1-0 set lead.

It was the same situation in the second set where Selekhmeteva won four straight games after Eala took the lead, 3-2. The 16-year-old Filipina thus exited in the Round of 16 for the second time in three tournaments. Apart from winning a Grand Slam with her, Eala also finished as runners-up with Selekmeteva in women's doubles in a pro tourney in Spain.

Source: philstar.com