Alex Eala and Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva could not complete a rousing comeback, absorbing a sorry 5-7, 6-4, 6-10 defeat from USA’s Ashley Lahey and Australia’s Olivia Tjandramulia in the quarterfinals of the 2021 ITF World Women’s Tennis Tour at the Ciudad Raqueta in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday evening (Manila time).
After their stunning upset of the fifth-seeds the previous day, Eala and Kasintseva tried to replicate the magic in this match, but after leading at 3-0 in the super tiebreak, Lahey and Tjandramulla buckled down to work.
The American-Australian pair took advantage of how their opponents covered the court and eventually took the upper hand at 7-5 with Eala missing the line of a forehand shot.
Lahey and Tjandramulla both carved net winners in two consecutive rallies to go at match point at 9-5 before the Filpino made amends with a well-placed forehand winner to cut the deficit.
Eala attempted another shot from the net in the following rally, but instead, the ball sailed out to signal the end of their stint in the tournament.
Lahey and Tjandramulla got the better of the opening set tussle, completing a turnaround of their own after being down 0-3. They then closed out the set with three straight games, the last of which was a service break.
Eala and Kasintseva would not be swept, however, and extended the match into a decider. This time it was their turn to come from being at the back foot at 0-2 and 1-3, before breaking the opponent’s final serve of the frame.
