Alex Eala couldn’t sustain her impressive form and ran out of steam, ultimately surrendering a 6-2, 3-6, 1-6 loss to Czech Gabriela Andrea Knutson in the semifinal round of the W60 Nantes singles tournament on Friday, Nov. 3, in France. 

The Filipina tennis star looked primed in qualifying for her fourth finals of the year after a brilliant start in the opening set. 

However, the 18-year-old 2022 US Open girls singles champion encountered a stiff challenge from the 26-year-old in the ensuing sets, where she suffered a total collapse. 

In the second set, Eala fought her way back from down 1-4 to a manageable gap of 3-5, but Knutson had the final word and equalized. 

Despite her determined run in the set prior, Eala trailed 0-4 in the closing chapter and only managed to put herself on the scoresheet in Game 5 before Knutson claimed the ticket to the finals. 

Eala clinched her fourth ITF title in August and has suffered back-to-back early exits prior to reaching the W60 Nantes semifinal.