By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala crashed out of the Australian Open Junior Championships girls singles on Wednesday after bowing to a Hong Kong rival in Melbourne.
Eala yielded to Hong Yi Cody Wong, 6-1, 6-3, in the third round that ended her hopes of clinching her first Grand Slam singles title in only her second appearance.
The 14-year-old Eala struggled for most parts of the match, committing six double faults and 32 unforced errors.
Still, it was an improvement of sort for Eala after reaching the second round of the US Open on her debut appearance last year.
Eala, however, is hoping her good run in the doubles with Indonesian Priska Madelyn Nugroho will continue.
They were playing against the French pair of Aubane Droguet and Selena Janicijevic in the quarterfinals at press time.
Seeded fourth, Eala and Nugroho barged into the Final 8 on Tuesday with a 6-2, 4-6, 11-9 triumph over Netherland’s Julie Belgraver and Slovenia’s Pia Lovric.
