By REYNALD MAGALLON
Alex Eala’s impressive start came to an end on Saturday, July 1 (Manila time), losing to veteran Valeria Savinykh of Russia, 6-4, 6-2, in their quarterfinal duel in the W40 Palma del Rio International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament.
The Filipina tennis ace couldn’t sustain a hot start that saw her take a 4-1 lead in the opening set and eventually fell prey to the veteran smarts of her 32-year-old counterpart who came back roaring and never looked back the rest of the way.
After breaking Savinykh’s serve twice to take the commanding lead, Eala fizzled out and slowly lost control of the contest allowing her foe to pick up the pace and dominate the Filipino sports princess.
Savinykh prevented Eala from scoring a point starting the sixth game as she also broke Eala’s serve twice to highlight her five straight points rally to secure the opening set.
Riding the crest of the opening set win, Savinykh showed no letup and fended off an initial resistance from Eala who kept in step, 2-3 in the early going of the second set.
The third seed Savinykh then put on the finishing touches against the 18-year-old Filipina, securing the next three games to close out the match in one hour and 39 minutes.
The loss wasted a promising start for Eala who made quick work of Spain’s Lorena Sonar Donoso, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round before taking down Talia Gibson, 6-3, 6-1 in the round of 16.
