
Alex Eala fell short in the crunch and yielded to third seed Simona Waltert, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, in the opening round of the W15 Manacor tournament in Spain Wednesdya night, March 10.
Eala, who earned a main draw berth as a junior reserve, squandered a 4-1 lead in the third set to make an early exit in this $15,000 event.
This was her first opening-round exit this season.
The 15-year-old Filipina bet also failed to duplicate her victory against Waltert in their first meeting at a $25,000 tournament last week, where she crushed her Swiss foe in straight sets.
Eala held ground by holding her serve at 5-4 after Waltert won three straight games, but it turned out to be her last stand as the Swiss regained control in the crucial moments.
A victory for Eala could have set her up a second-round meeting against Portugal’s Francisca Jorge, who toppled wildcard bet Noemi Basiletti of Italy, 6-2, 6-3.