The slump continues for Alex Eala.
Playing under the bright Center Court lights in the last match of the day, the 4th-seeded Eala could not protect her one-set advantage and fell to Claire Liu of the United States, 6-2, 4-6, 4-6 in the opening round of the WTA 250 Guangzhou Open on Tuesday.
Though currently just 305 in the world after taking a long mental break and dealing with injuries, the 25-year-old Liu has impressive credentials to show for.
The former world junior no.1 was 52nd in the world rankings in 2023.
She also came into the main draw after scoring solid wins over two outstanding foes in Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva and Linda Fruhvirtova.
Liu’s momentum appeared to carry over early in her match against Eala, whom she broke in the very first game of the opening set.
But Eala shrugged off her slow start by breaking back in the next game.
From a 2-2 standoff, Eala raised her play to a level that Liu could not quite match as the Filipina swept the next four games to take the first set after 40 minutes.
The second set was marked by several momentum swings.
Liu once again jumped out of the gates and opened a 2-0 lead. Then Eala went on a run of her own to go up 4-2.
Just when Liu seemed reeling on the ropes, she found an extra gear and rattled off the next three games to steal the set from Eala and send the match to a deciding set.
Eala finally opened a set in the lead when she held serve to begin the third set. But just as quickly, Liu evened the count at 1-1.
The world no. 53 Eala then appeared to have finally taken control of the match when she went up 3-1.
But Liu refused to go away, tying the count again at 3-3. The turning point came in the ninth game.
With the score deadlocked at 4-4, Liu broke Eala for the 6th time in the match to reclaim the advantage.
Liu went on to hold serve in the tenth to eliminate Eala after two hours and 28 minutes.
It was the second straight first-round exit for Eala, who also could not get past the opening round of the WTA Japan Ladies Open the previous week.
It was also the 4th straight loss she suffered in the pro tour.
She will be hoping to end the season on a better note when she competes in her last tournament for the year in the WTA Hong Kong Open next week.
