Eala falls to world No. 13 in Ningbo Open Round of 16

October 23 ------ ALEX Eala bowed out of the WTA 500 Ningbo Open after falling to Diana Shnaider, 7-5, 7-4, in their round of 16 match at Centre Court.

Playing catch-up all match long, the Filipina tennis star just could not hurdle the world No. 13, as errors once again proved to be her undoing. Leading 4-3 in the second set, Eala could not break Shnaider's serve to see the Russian tie the game at 4-all. That would be the first of four straight games won to claim the match.

But it wasn't without a fight. With Shnaider at match point, 40-15, Eala would stage a spirited rally to force a deuce and fight through six break points before the Filipina returned the ball to the net. Eala only won 51-percent of her first serves, committed 27 unforced errors, and could only salvage seven break points from the 13 she faced. She earned 60 points from this campaign, keeping her at 19th in the world, while also taking home $17,795 from the prize pot.

Eala will now head to Tokyo for the WTA500 Toray Pan Pacific Open which starts on Monday. Meanwhile, Shnaider advances to the quarterfinals where she will meet world No. 12 Iva Jovic, who earlier swept Jasmine Paolini, 6-4, 6-3.

Source: spin.ph