Eala falters in singles, still in contention for doubles in Madrid tiff

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala once again suffered an early exit in singles after she ended her singles campaign in the W25 Madrid in the first round, losing to fifth-seeded bet Andrea Lazaro Garcia in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 4-6 on Wednesday.

Despite a dominant 6-2 win for Eala in the opening set, Lazaro Garcia was able to bank on her experience and took advantage of an error-prone performance on the service line from the Filipina.

Eala looked to take the advantage late in the match when she had a break point in the 11th game of the third set, AD-40.

However, she would relinquish three straight points to give Lazaro Garcia the lead late in the match, 5-4.

The Spaniard would then ride the momentum to clinch a love game on Eala's serve to come away with the win, 6-4.

While Eala bows out of singles, she still remains very much in contention in the doubles tournament where she is set to play in the quarterfinals later today.

Eala joined forces with top junior player Victoria Jimenez Kasinteva and will clash against Ashley Lahey and Olivia Tjandramulia.