Alex Eala loses early lead, bows out of Miami Open

MANILA, Philippines – A strong start which was not sustained led to a whimpering finish.

That was the case for both Alex Eala’s entire campaign in the Miami Open and her last match in the qualifying round of the WTA 1000 event, as she fell in three sets to Emiliana Arango of Colombia, 6-2, 5-7, 1-6, in the WTA Miami Open on Monday (Tuesday, March 19, Manila time) at the Miami Gardens.

It was a sorry loss for the world No. 171 ranked Eala who had her fair share of chances to put away the world No. 123 Colombian.

The Filipina teen star was all business from the opening serve and thoroughly dominated the 23-year-old Arango in the first set which Eala won after just eight games. Eala once again had Arango reeling on the ropes and was on the brink of ending the battle after earning a match point in the second set.

Arango showed nerves of steel and tons of resilience as she not only survived the match point but also turned things around by seizing the lead from Eala. Arango was able to even the match at a set apiece when she closed out the second set in the twelfth game.

It was all Arango from that juncture as the cramp-stricken Eala no longer was capable of putting up a fight in the third set which easily went the way of the Colombian.

The victory earned for Arango a spot in the main tournament where she was drawn to face 36-year-old veteran Tatjana Maria from Germany who is ranked 48th in the world.

It was a sorry early exit for Eala who could not follow through on her 6-3, 6-1 victory over former French Open finalist Sara Errani of Italy in the first round of the qualifiers.

Eala will have a few days to recover but could be back as early as next week in the ITF W75 Open 3C Seine et Marine on March 25 in Croissy-Beauborg, France. – Rappler.com