At A Glance
- Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala and American tennis legend Venus Williams concluded their first-ever doubles campaign together after bowing to Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia and Olivia Nicholls of Great Britain, 3-6, 2-6, in the quarterfinal round of the WTA 500 Bad Homburg Open in Germany Thursday, June 25.
(WTA)
Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala and American tennis legend Venus Williams concluded their first-ever doubles campaign together after bowing to Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia and Olivia Nicholls of Great Britain, 3-6, 2-6, in the quarterfinal round of the WTA 500 Bad Homburg Open in Germany Thursday, June 25.
Coming off a strong start in their maiden match together on German soil less than a day earlier, Eala and Williams couldn't keep up against an opposition that played a notch higher with their impeccable shotmaking and court chemistry.
The 21-year-old Eala and the 46-year-old Williams committed untimely errors and failed to convert a deciding point, resulting in Mihalikova and Nicholls stealing the set and the momentum preserved up to the second frame.
The No. 2 duo arranged a semis clash against No. 3 Ellen Perez of Australia and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands, who advanced after besting Chinese Qianhui Tang and Shuai Zhang, 6-3, 6-3.
The Filipina-American pair dispatched Australian Alexandra Osborne and American Catherine Harrison, 6-3, 6-4, in Round of 16.
This marked the first and only time Eala partnered with the American sport icon who has seven singles Grand Slam titles and 14 doubles crowns.
Both Eala and Venus are set for an appearance in the Wimbledon Championships slated June 29 to July 12 in London where the latter plays with her sister and 23-time Slam winner Serena after receiving a wild-card spot in the doubles event of the prestigious meet.
The Filipina netter, on the other hand, is seeded and received a first-round bye after cracking inside No. 30 despite her quick exit in the Bad Homburg Open. She achieved it after her giant-slaying stint in WTA Berlin Open last weekend.