By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Bad weather slowed down Alex Eala and the Filipina star absorbed 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 defeat to Australian fifth seed Kimberly Birrell in the second round of the W100 Tokyo International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Japan on Wednesday, Sept. 6.
Tied at 4-all in the second set after match was suspended due to weather conditions, Eala failed to regain her bearing as Birrell pounced on her with strong returns to extend the match into a decider.
The Filipina briefly fought back at the start of the third for 2-all, but the Australian dictated the pace by claiming the next four games to clinch the victory.
It also didn’t help that Eala struggled with her serves, earning eight double faults.
A victory for Eala could have booked her a quarterfinals berth and could have set her up a meeting with German second seed Jule Niemeier, who also needed an extra set to survive unseeded Ankita Raina of India, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (8).
Eala, though, is still in contention in the doubles with Japanese partner Natsumi Kawaguchi as they are slated to clash with third seed Natela Dzalamidze of Georgia and Sofya Lansere.
The Filipina-Japanese duo is coming off a first-round victory over Thai veterans Luksika Kumkhum and Peangtarn Plipuech, 6-4, 7-6 (3), while Dzalamidze and Lansere escaped Mexico’s Fernanda Contreras and American Catherine Harrison, 6-2, 2-6, 11-9.
Though Eala has won four ITF titles, she has yet to win a doubles crown.
Kawaguchi, meanwhile, has one ITF doubles title under her belt, but it came four years ago in the W15 Cancun in Mexico with Israel’s Maya Tahan.
