MANILA, Philippines, February 6 ------ The struggles continue for Alex Eala, who found herself being shown the exit door twice. The 19-year-old Eala kept in stride with Japanese veteran Mai Hontama but could not convert the needed points when it mattered, losing in straight sets, 7-6(5), 6-2, in the second round of the women’s singles event of the WTA 125 Mumbai at the Cricket Club of India.
Both Eala, ranked 137th in the world, and Hontama, currently 166th but was at a career-high world ranking of 105 in August 2024, were coming off impressive opening-round victories. Eala was dominant against Japanese teen Sara Saito and almost scored a double bagel, 6-1, 6-0, on Monday, February 3. Hontama upended sixth seed and former world No. 56 Nao Hibino, 7-6 (4), 6-2, on Tuesday, February 4.
Eala and Hontama carried over their solid form to their second-round encounter, at least in the first set. From a 3-3 standoff, the 25-year-old Japanese surged to a 5-3 advantage. But Eala willed herself back into the match, pocketing the next three games to put herself in a position to go a set up at 6-5. Hontama managed to tie after the 12th game to send the set to a tiebreak where she opened a 5-3 lead. Once again, Eala showed resilience and fought back to level the count at 5-5. Hontama, though, steeled her nerves to win the next two points and the opening set.
Eala kicked off the second set with a service break. It turned out to be a fleeting turn at the driver’s seat, with Hontama seizing control of the set by breaking Eala right back and dominating the rest of the way. Hontama, who has reached the second round of Wimbledon and has made the main draw of the Australian Open, finished off Eala in one hour and 51 minutes. Eala was back on the court hours later when she teamed up with Tsao Chia Yi of Chinese Taipei for the opening round of the women’s doubles event. The Filipina and Taiwanese pair, however, were eliminated after suffering a 6-4, 6-4 defeat at the hands of second-seeded Russians Amina Anshba and Elena Pridankina.
Source: rappler.com
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