2 days ago
15
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
MANILA, Philippines -- Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala’s run as the top seed of the Oeiras Ladies Open was cut short after absorbing a 6(4)-7, 4-6 defeat against Hungary’s Panna Udvardy in the tourney’s round of 16 Thursday evening (Manila time) in Portugal.
Eala ran out of gas after a grueling one-hour, 50-minute battle.
The 19-year-old Filipina, ranked a career-high 72nd prior to the tournament, had a sluggish start as Udvardy set the tone.
Eala was able to close in and force the tiebreak but could not recover in time and dropped the first set.
In the second set, the Asian Games bronze medalist zoomed to a 2-0 lead against the World No. 137 tennister, but she crumbled late.
The Hungarian eventually tied things up at four games apiece, but she blanked Eala the rest of the way.
And in the 10th game of the second set, Udvardy took over and secured the victory.
Udvardy tallied a whopping six service aces and won 47 service points compared to Eala’s 38. The latter, however, won 37 receiving points to the former’s 32.
Udvardy will be taking on compatriot Dalma Galfi in the tournament’s quarterfinals.
Just a few weeks ago, Eala came from a dream run in the Miami Open, where she reached the semifinals before coming up short against World No. 4 Jessica Pegula.
The pride of the Philippines, on Wednesday, bowed out of the doubles' action after she and her partner, Katie Volynets, were swept by the American duo of Christina Rosca and Carmen Corley.
