Filipina teen tennis sensation Alex Eala ended her 2020 French Open campaign in the semifinals on Friday, October 9, in Paris, France.

Eala succumbed to No. 3 seed Elsa Jacquemot of France, 6-3, 6-2, in the Roland Garros girls singles tournament.

The 15-year-old Filipina had strong starts to each set, but the young French found her groove midway through the match as she played on home soil.

Jacquemot, who’s two years older than Eala, hit the dagger when she racked up 8 straight games to go up 5-2 in the 2nd set.

The semifinal stint was Eala’s best finish in the singles as she only reached the Round of 16 in the 2020 Australian Open juniors tournament last January.

She became the first Filipino to reach the last 4 of a Slam since Felix Barrientos in the 1985 Wimbledon juniors tournament.

The current juniors world No. 4, though, is still on track of clinching the No. 1 ranking with her career performance in the French Open.

The Rafa Nadal Academy scholar already ended her bid in doubles action after an opening round exit with American partner Elvina Kalieva as they suffered an upset loss to the Italian pair of Lisa Pigato and Eleonora Alvisi.

Last February, Eala made history in the 2020 Australian Open juniors doubles tournament, which she ruled together with Indonesian Priska Nugroho. – Rappler.com