Alex Eala gets her first taste—and disappointment—at a Grand Slam tournament, bowing out in the first round of Roland Garros.
Momentum was not enough to propel Alex Eala past Colombian foe Emiliana Arango in her French Open debut, losing in three sets, 0-6, 6-2, 3-6, in a Sunday match day in Paris.
Eala, who played her first-ever main draw match at a Grand Slam, fell short in the third set even as she recovered from a 0-6 loss in the opener against the older Arango.
The 20-year-old rebounded in set 2, where the game was delayed for a good hour due to rain.
[READ: Rain delay hampers Alex Eala’s comeback bid in French Open debut]
When action resumed, Eala was able to win three straight games to force the decider, building on her initial 3-2 advantage.
Despite this, Eala couldn’t carry over her momentum in the third set as she had to play catch up after going down 0-2 against Arango. Eala was within a game, 3-4, but failed to break her opponent's serve.
In game 9, Eala had her back to the wall when Arango took the 40-0 lead even as the Filipina was the one serving.
Though she saved a match point, Eala could no longer deny the inevitable as Arango took the win, 6-3.
Despite her singles exit, there’s more to come for Eala in Paris as she is also slated to play in doubles.
She pairs up with Renata Zarazúa of Mexico and they play their first round match on Wednesday, May 28 (PH time).