Eala gets early Wuhan Open boot vs World No. 217 in another stunner

MANILA, Philippines -- Alex Eala’s return to action came screeching to a halt as the Filipina fell against World No. 217 Han Shi of China, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, in the Wuhan Open’s opening round Monday evening in China. 

Following a stint in the Asian Games, the World No. 19 tennister came back on the tour but suffered an early exit in the WTA 1000 tournament in another massive upset after two hours and 27 minutes. 

Eala had to grind out the win in the first set, as Han tied things up at 4-all before the pride of the Philippines fended off several break points and grabbed a 5-4 lead.
And in the 10th game, Eala trailed 0-40 and completed the come-from-behind game to take the first set, 6-4. 

In the second set, it was more of the same as the two tennisters traded games. 

Eala took a 3-2 lead, but the Chinese player blanked her opponent the rest of the set, 6-3. 

Han continued with her onslaught, winning the first three games of the third set before Eala held her serve and put herself on the board, 1-3. 

But the Chinese tennister could not be stopped by the Filipina, going up 4-1 before Eala saved herself anew, 2-5. 

Han, though, held her serve and pushed herself to the cusp of the match, 5-2. 

Eala tried to claw back, holding her serve in the eighth game, but Han slammed the door shut in the ninth game. 

Han punched in four aces against none for Eala. The former also had 31 winners to her opponent's 20. 

Eala committed 37 unforced errors to Han's 33. 

The past month has been a rough patch for the Filipina.

Following a third-round exit in the US Open, Eala barged into the Singapore Tennis Open but lost to Tatiana Prozorova, who is outside the top 100 rankings. 

In the Asian Games, she reached the semifinal round as the favorite to win the gold medal but came up short against China’s Wang Xiyu, then-ranked 85th in the world, in three sets. 

Han will thus be facing Leylah Fernandez in the Round of 32. The Canadian defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, earlier in the day.