Alex Eala’s fairytale run at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Women’s World Tennis Tour ended Friday night after yielding to a more experienced player in the quarterfinals of the W15 Manacor in Spain.
The 15-year-old PH junior player succumbed to seventh seed Ylena In-Albon of Switzerland, 6-0, 6-3, after a seven-match run that saw her winning her first pro title in the first leg last weekend.
Eala struggled with her erratic plays, but briefly gained composure in the second set where she won three straight games to crawl back from a 3-0 hole.
But the 21-year-old In-Albon, who is ranked No. 432 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), quickly bounced back to claim the next three games en route to the win.
Despite the defeat, Eala showed that she could compete in the $15,000 pro field.
She opened up her second leg campaign with a first-round upset victory over second seed Mirjam Bjorklund of Sweden, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and followed it up with a second-round win over Spain’s Alba Carrillo Marin, 6-2, 6-3.