MANILA, Philippines, August 12 ------ Alex Eala got off to a sluggish start in the opening set, came back strong in the second, found herself trailing big in the third, then attempted a rally that fell just short. The 19-year-old Eala’s best effort was not enough as she was shown the exit by Olivia Gadecki of Australia, 6-1, 0-6, 6-3, in the quarterfinal of the 2024 Koser Jewelers Tennis Challenge in Landisville, Pennsylvania.
The 22-year-old Gadecki, who reached the second round of the 2023 Australian Open, as well as the main draws of the 2023 US Open and the 2024 Wimbledon, was forced to play two matches on Saturday after inclement weather rained out most matches on Thursday and Friday. Yet impressively, Gadecki eliminated compatriot Talia Gibson, 6-1, 6-1, then still had enough gas in the tank to take on Eala.
Gadecki zoomed to a 4-1 lead in the third set after breaking Eala in the first and fifth games. The Filipina teen star broke right back in the sixth game, then saved five break points to hold serve in the seventh to narrow the gap to just 4-3. But Gadecki recovered, holding serve to put some distance between her and Eala at 5-3. Although Eala had one more crack at inching closer, she could not hold on to her serve despite staving off five more break points. Gadecki finally converted on the sixth to finish off Eala in one hour and 47 minutes.
The Australian broke Eala twice to take the opening set in just 30 minutes. The world No. 147 Filipina bounced back with a vengeance in the second set by blanking Gadecki, who earlier this year reached a career-high world ranking of 120. Eala began her campaign in this ITF $100,000 event held on the hard courts of the Hempfield recCenter with a straight-set win over Taylah Preston of Australia, 7-5, 6-1, in the opening round.
The Filipina then scored a 7-5, 6-2 victory in the round of 16 against former US NCAA singles and doubles No. 1 Mary Stoiana of the United States. The quarterfinal finish still turned out to be a good result for Eala, who is coming off a first-round exit in both singles and doubles in the WTA 125 Polish Open the previous week. Prior to that, she emerged singles and doubles champion of the ITF W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain, the biggest triumph of her pro career. Eala is in the thick of her preparations for the US Open qualifiers, which is set to begin on August 19. She will plunge back into action when she joins the ITF W100 Cary Tennis Classic in North Carolina from August 12-18.
Source: rappler.com
Comments