Filipina tennis player Alex Eala faced a tough defeat in her first-ever professional Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, on Monday. Eala, 17, lost to Japan’s Misaki Doi, who is 14 years her senior, with a score of 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the first round of the women’s singles qualifying draw in Melbourne.
The match began with both players holding their serves, with Eala taking the first break point of the match to go up 2-1. Doi quickly responded by breaking Eala’s serve in the next game to even the score at 2-2. Eala managed to break Doi’s serve again in the seventh game, but Doi broke back in the following game to keep the score level at 4-4. Eala managed to hold her serve in the ninth game and then broke Doi’s serve in the tenth game to take the first set 6-4.
The second set was a closely contested battle, with both players holding their serves until Eala took a 4-2 lead after holding serve on her second advantage point. Eala had the chance to serve for the match at 5-2 and 5-4, but Doi fought back, breaking Eala’s serve and taking the lead at 6-5. Eala managed to force a tiebreak, but Doi dominated the decider, winning 7-1.
In the third set, Doi got off to an early lead, going up 3-1. Eala managed to hold her serve to bring the score to 2-3, but Doi continued to hold her own serve and increase her lead to 4-2. Eala responded with a love service hold, but Doi was able to hold her own serve and then break Eala’s serve to win the match 6-3.
This marks a difficult start to the year for Eala, who also lost in the qualifying draw of the W60 Canberra in Australia a week ago. However, she will have the chance to redeem herself at the W250 Thailand Open, set to begin on January 30. Eala, the reigning US Open girls’ champion, will be looking to secure a spot in the main draw of the Australian Open as she continues to compete in the qualifying rounds.
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Eala’s defeat at the Australian Open will no doubt be a disappointment for her Filipino fans, who were hoping to see her succeed in her first professional Grand Slam tournament. However, it is important to remember that Eala is still young and has many years of tennis ahead of her. At just 17 years old, she has already achieved a great deal of success, including winning the US Open girls’ title and competing in the qualifying rounds of the Australian Open.
While this loss may be a setback, it is likely that Eala will use it as motivation to continue improving and working towards her ultimate goal of becoming a top player on the WTA tour. With her talent and dedication, it is certainly possible that we will see Eala achieve great things in the coming years. So, there is still hope for her success in the future.
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