By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala crashed out of the first round of the Guadalajara Open as sixth seed Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic demolished the Filipina star, 6-2, 6-2, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, in Mexico.
The 19-year-old Eala, who had to go through two qualifying matches to make it to the main draw, showed flashes of brilliance but was simply no match to the power of her 26-year-old rival.
Eala broke Bouzkova’s serve only twice, while dropping her own six times in the match that lasted one hour and 36 minutes.
A victory for Eala could have arranged her a second-round meeting with Italian Lucrezia Stefanini, who bounced back from a second-set loss before turning back local bet Ana Sofia Sanchez, 6-0, 3-6, 6-2.
It was a tough match against Bouzkova, a regular Grand Slam campaigner who boasts of a WTA ranking of No. 45, while Eala is only ranked at No. 147.
The tournament was Eala’s second WTA event after playing in the US Open qualifiers, where she came up one win short of advancing to the main draw.
Apart from Bouzkova, 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens, former world No. 1 and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, two-time French Open winner Caroline Garcia, and 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins are competing in the event.
