Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

News

Eala’s gallant stand not enough in Miami Open


Alex Eala fought hard and took 11th seed Viktoria Kuzmova of Slovakia into a two-hour marathon before bowing out, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, in the qualifying match of the 2021 Miami Open at the Hard Rock Stadium, Tuesday morning (Manila time).

Kuzmova, 22, has reached Round of 32 of the 2019 French Open and the current world No. 104. On the other hand, Eala, 15, is the current Australian Open juniors champion and at present at 756th in the WTA Rankings.

The more veteran Kuzmova picked up her service game in the final and deciding set to overcome the Filipino teen after an exchange of service breaks, to take a commanding 5-1 lead.

Eala, 15, held serve in the following game to extend the contest and even threatened with a breakpoint with Slovak serving for the match, but eventually the latter took the win to end the two-hour-long match.

The 15-year-old earlier opened the match with a strong 2-0 start, which Kuzmova turned into a 3-2 lead. The Slovakian, however, had some problems with her serve in some crucial points, and Eala capitalized on it to take the first-set stunner at 6-4.

Kuzmova then found her second wind in the second and cruised into a 4-1 lead, before Eala made a case after making it to 3-5. The Slovakian, however, broke the latter’s serve to eventually take the set at 6-4 and force a decider.

Despite the loss, Eala’s debut in the Miami Open can be considered her biggest milestone as the tournament has gathered some of the best in the world. The tournament’s main draw has Grand Slam winners in World No. 1 Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, World No. 2 Naomi Osaka, and World No. 3 Simona Halep.

#ReadMore  Tab Baldwin bares Ange Kouame barely practices due to knee woes

Eala was not the lone Filipina in the qualifying draw as Canada-based Leylah Fernandez also went through the same stage.

Unfortunately, Fernandez could not carry her momentum from her first WTA title two days ago in the 2021 GNP Seguros in Monterrey, Mexico, as she bowed out in straight sets against Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu, 4-6, 2-6.

Grew to appreciate various sports from tennis to judo. True-maroon kiddo since the new millennium. Fanboy. Singer. Occasional sports writer.


You May Also Like

News

Rising talent Alex Eala and star player Diana Mae ‘Tots’ Carlos will share the spotlight at the San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Awards...

News

Alex Eala is still a superstar in “The Heart of Volleyball.” The 18-year-old Filipina tennis prodigy was part of the Philippine volleyball record crowd...

19th Asian Games

Team Pilipinas finished in 17th place in the 2022 Asian Games. Although they brought home fewer medals compared to the 2018 continental meet (4...

19th Asian Games

Overachievement. That’s how tennis star Alex Eala described their performance after winning the bronze medal in the mixed doubles of tennis competitions on Friday...

19th Asian Games

Alex Eala suffered a 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 3-6 defeat to Chinese top seed Zheng Qinwen but successfully ended the country’s 17-year medal drought in...

19th Asian Games

Alex Eala achieved one of the most remarkable comeback wins in Asian Games tennis history on Wednesday, securing another bronze medal for Team PH...

19th Asian Games

Alex Eala survived a marathon first set to defeat veteran Rutuja Bhosale of India, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the...

19th Asian Games

Alex Eala completely dominated Sarah Ibrahim Khan in her Asiad debut on Monday, defeating her Pakistani opponent with a resounding 6-0, 6-0 victory at...

Advertisement