By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala’s dream to play against the big stars at the Miami Open was shattered on Friday, March 19, after suffering severe muscle cramps that led to her downfall in her final qualifying round match at the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida.
After losing steam due to the cramps on her left leg, Eala also went down in defeat to Colombia’s Emiliana Arango, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.
The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for Eala as she came close to advancing to the 128-player main draw round after winning the first set and taking a 5-3 lead in the second set.
But to everybody’s horror, the unthinkable happened as cramps slowed Eala down which Arango exploited to the max to prevail.
Eala was never the same again after that vexing cramps – her stroke lost its power and was no longer quick as she was especially in the first set.
Eala was coming off a huge upset victory over former world No. 5 and 2012 Roland Garros finalist Sara Errani in the first qualifying match before meeting her fate with Arango.
Despite this, Eala is entering the week with a career-high Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking of No. 171 from last week’s No. 176.
She is scheduled to compete in another WTA event in Paris, France next week.
