Alex Eala came up short against hard-hitting Wei Sijia of China to yield 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Workday Canberra International in Australia on Friday, Jan. 3.

Eala, 19, fought back in the tight opening set before losing steam in the crunch and failed to recover since then in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) match that lasted one hour and 28 minutes.

A victory for Eala could have arranged her championship date with seventh seed Aoi Ito of Japan, who stunned top seed Nuria Parrizas Diaz of Spain, 6-2, 6-2.

Wei started strong by taking a 2-1 lead in the opening set to dictate the pace, but Eala held her composure by keeping the match close at 4-all midway.

Still, the world No. 134 Chinese was a tough nut to crack, becoming more aggressive with her shots to capture the first frame.

Wei kept her momentum entering the second set by zooming to a 5-0 lead, but Eala refused to give up easily, breaking the Chinese’s serve to claim the sixth game.

It somehow boosted her morale and held her serve in the seventh to trim her deficit at 5-2, but Wei was quick to regain her bearings and took over the eighth game as well as the match.

Prior to her loss to Wei, Eala had to undergo two qualifying matches against Aussies Catherine Aulia, 6-1, 6-2, and Alana Subasic, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1, to make it to the main draw, then dumped Austria’s Sinja Kraus, 6-2, 6-4; Netherlands’ Arianne Hortono, 6-3, 6-3; and local bet Taylah Preston, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

This was Eala’s first tournament for the season.