Eala loses to Russian, exits W50 Trnava tilt

MANILA, Philippines -- Alex Eala’s journey in the W50 Trnava in Slovakia came to a screeching halt after suffering a tough three-set loss against Russia’s Anastasiia Gureva, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(3), Friday night (Manila time).

The two battled it out for two hours and 30 minutes, as Gureva dug deep to win over Eala.

The Russian tennister started the match hot, taking a 4-0 lead in the first set that she rode through to the end.

In the second set, Eala turned a 3-all deadlock into three straight triumphant games, forcing the extender.

In the third set, the 18-year-old Filipina came to within a game to win the match, 5-3.

Gureva then fought tooth and nail and won two straight games to tie the set up at 5.

The two tennis stars then traded sets, and ultimately, the 18-year-old Russian won the third set, which took an hour and 15 minutes to finish.

Eala is still yet to win a singles championship this year.

In the same tourney, she and her partner, Turkiye’s Zeynep Sonmez, bowed out of the doubles play against Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima and Switzerland’s Lulu Sun, 6-2, 6-2.