Alex Eala suffered a stunning second-round exit at the Wuhan Open after falling to Chinese qualifier Shi Han, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, on Monday evening at the Optics Valley International Tennis Center in Wuhan, China.
The world No. 19 appeared poised to advance after taking the opening set against the world No. 231, but Shi mounted a comeback to send the Filipina crashing out in the round of 64.
Eala struggled to maintain her momentum after the first set, with Shi finding her rhythm and taking control of the match through aggressive groundstrokes and timely winners.
The Chinese qualifier seized the initiative in the deciding set, winning seven consecutive games across the second and third sets to build a commanding advantage.
Shi broke Eala early in the final set to move ahead, 2-0, before extending her lead to 3-0 as the Filipina struggled to find answers to her opponent’s relentless pressure.
Eala finally halted the slide by holding serve to avoid falling further behind, but Shi continued to dictate the exchanges. The qualifier held to love to move ahead, 4-1, before another dominant service game pushed her advantage to 5-2.
The Filipina responded with a love hold to pull within 3-5, but Shi remained composed while serving for the match. Eala’s short return gave the Chinese another point, and Shi eventually secured match point at 40-15 to complete the upset.
The defeat came after Eala showed promise in the opening set, recovering from a series of errors to claim the early advantage.
Despite committing 17 unforced errors against just six winners in the first set, Eala capitalized on a crucial opportunity late in the frame, rallying from 0-40 down to break Shi and take a 6-4 lead.
The ninth game proved to be the longest of the opening set, with Eala saving two break points and navigating several deuces before holding for a 5-4 advantage.
With the momentum seemingly on her side, Eala opened the second set by winning nine consecutive points, extending the run to 11 as she built an early lead.
However, Shi gradually turned the match around. After the players traded holds early in the second set, the Chinese qualifier broke through to take her first lead at 4-3, then won the next two games to level the match at one set apiece.
Shi carried that momentum into the deciding frame and denied Eala a chance to recover, completing the comeback to book her place in the next round.
The loss ends Eala’s campaign in Wuhan, where she entered the tournament as one of the highest-ranked players in the draw.
