Alex Eala, American partner bow out of French Open doubles first round

Alex Eala and Elina Kalieva of the United States crashed out of the French Open girls doubles opening round Tuesday night after yielding to unseeded Lisa Pigato and Eleonora Alvisi of Italy, 7-5, 2-6, 10-7.
The third-seeded Eala and Kalieva, who last partnered at last year’s US Open, struggled with a shaky start and failed to sustain their second-set momentum in the tiebreaker for an upset defeat.
The match was supposed to take place Monday, but was moved a day later due to schedule delays caused by the weather condition.
Eala and Kalieva trailed 6-3 in the tiebreaker but retaliated with three straight points for 6-6.
But Pigato and Alvisi, who are partnering for the first time, quickly regained the tempo to edge the favored Eala and Kalieva.
Despite the loss, Eala’s bid for a second Grand Slam crown is still alive as she is scheduled to play in the singles third round against Spain’s Leyre Romero Gormaz Wednesday night.
On paper, Eala had the edge with her current International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior ranking of No. 4 compared to Gormaz’s No. 53.
But the Spaniard, who is three years older than 15-year-old Eala, boasts of two titles in clay last year and has already been competing in the women’s circuit since 2016.