Eala comeback falls short, crashes out of pro tourney
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala couldn't maintain the momentum of her comeback effort against Belgium's Lara Salden at the W25 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain on Thursday.
After bucking a slow start that saw Salden claim a love set against the 15-year-old Eala, the Filipina tennister couldn't complete the upset and crashed out of the tournament in the second round, 0-6, 6-2, 2-6.
It was all Salden in the first set, with a dominating performance against the much younger Eala.
The 21-year-old cruised through the opener without dropping a single set and took a one set advantage over Eala, 6-0.
But the Rafa Nadal Academy (RNA) scholar remained unperturbed in the match despite the dismal start.
Shifting gears in the second set, Eala took a dominant start breaking Salden's serve and swinging momentum to her side with a 2-0 start.
Though the Belgian tennister was able to get back in the third game, 1-2, Eala was able to ride the momentum and take the second set with a convincing 6-2 win to force the decider.
But fatigue seemed to play a factor for Eala as she ran out of gas against the WTA World No. 246 player, with the more experienced Salden taking the decider easily, 6-2.
Eala, ranked No. 3 in the ITF Juniors World Rankings, now sports a 3-2 win-loss slate in her professional career.
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