By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala will have to wait for another chance to win her fourth pro title after yielding to a familiar foe in the semifinal of the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in Spain on Saturday, July 22.
The unseeded Eala failed to sustain her hot start and succumbed to third seed Jessika Ponchet of France, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, in the $100,000 tournament.
It was the fourth time that Eala and Ponchet clashed and like their first two matches, it was the Frenchwoman who emerged victorious.
Eala beat Ponchet in October last year in the opening round of the W80 Poitiers in France, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (6).
It was a tough loss for Eala as she could have set up a championship duel with sixth seed Daria Snigur of Ukraine, who drubbed Chinese seventh seed Bai Zhouxuan, 6-3, 6-3.
Still, it was Eala’s best performance in the $100,000 event.
She posted 3-set wins in all her matches – starting with Romania’s Jaqueline Adina Cristian in the opening round, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (1), 6-2; China’s Mi Tianmi in the second round, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-0; and Spain’s Lucia Cortez Llorca, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
Eala was also unsuccessful in the doubles with Spaniard partner Marina Bassols Ribera, losing in the quarters to France’s Estelle Cascino and Latvia’s Diana Marcinkevica, 7-5, 1-6, 11-9.
