Alex Eala could not repeat over a foe she had already beaten earlier this month.
The Filipina teen tennis star was booted out in the semifinals of the W25 El Espinar/Segovia tournament on Friday by Spain’s Eve Guerrero Alvarez, 2-6, 6-3, 2-6.
Eala realized right from her opening groundstrokes that she was in for a battle when Guerrero Alvarez broke her first two serves.
The fourth-seeded Filipina managed to keep herself in the set, though. She held serve in the fifth game to inch closer at 2-3.
Guerrero Alvarez, seeded seventh in the competition, then pocketed the next three games to go up a set.
The second set appeared to be a replay of the opener as Eala once again dropped her serve in the very first game. But the Filipina teen star broke Guerrero Alvarez right back.
The two went back and forth as the set remained tied at 3-3 until Eala pulled away to extend the match to a decider.
Guerrero Alvarez, however, was determined not to disappoint the hometown fans in Segovia, Spain.
Eala saw her 22-year-old rival zoom to a seemingly insurmountable lead as the Filipina stared at a 0-5. She managed to claim the next two games to get to 2-5, but that was the closest she would get.
Guerrero Alvarez closed out the match in the 8th game to book herself a finals spot.
Eala reached her career-high world ranking this week. She is now 282nd in the world, and could go even further with her semifinal finish in Segovia.
