By NIKOLE JAVIER
Alex Eala couldn’t sustain her impressive start and suffered a 6-2, 3-6, 1-6 loss against Czech Gabriela Andrea Knutson in the semifinal round of the W60 Nantes singles tournament on Friday, Nov. 3, in France.
The Filipina tennis star looked primed for her fourth finals appearance of the year after that brilliant start.
However, the 18-year-old 2022 US Open girls singles champion encountered a stiff challenge from the 26-year-old in the ensuing sets that led to her collapse.
In the second set, Eala fought her way back from 4-1 deficit to a manageable gap of 3-5, but Knutson had the final word and equalized the set at 1-all.
Despite her determined run in the set prior, Eala trailed 0-4 in the closing chapter and only managed to put herself on the scores sheet in Game 5 before Knutson claimed the ticket to the finals.
Eala clinched her fourth ITF title in August and has suffered back-to-back early exits prior to reaching the W60 Nantes semifinal.
