Alex Eala could not cap her breakout year with a win as she fell against WTA no. 9 Mirra Andreeva at the Macau Tennis Masters.
Alex Eala was unable to score a repeat of her juniors win over Russian standout Mirra Andreeva as the world no. 9 swept their meeting, 6-4, 6-2, in the women’s singles of the Macau Tennis Masters at the Macao Forum on Sunday.
Eala, 20, competed in the first set before faltering in the second stanza in a match that lasted an hour and 11 minutes, which marked the first time that the two players faced each other since they were junior stars.
They previously met in the Girls’ Singles quarterfinals of the 2022 US Open where Eala won.
“I know it’s a very special time of the year, so thank you so much. I really had a good time sharing the court with Mirra, of course, and all of you so this experience was just so great for me,” Eala said of the match.
The Filipino looked poised for a comeback in the first set when she saved three set points and held her serve to get within a game, 4-5. But Andreeva’s shot making was just too good as Eala ran around the court just to return her balls.
Then in Set 2, Eala showed early promise when she took the 2-1 lead after getting her serve broken in the opening game.
But Andreeva, who was fighting off illness, regained composure in her service game to tie the set, 2-2, and went on to cruise from that point on.
The Russian held her serve in Game 8 to claim the win and the title for Team Conchita in the Macau Tennis Masters, 8-2.
On Saturday, Eala also fell in a narrow loss in mixed doubles.
[RELATED: Alex Eala, China’s Juncheng Shang fall in narrow loss at Macau Tennis Masters mixed doubles]
The Macau Tennis Masters, an exhibition which pits teams representing Conchita Martinez and China’s own Li Na, will have two more matches, two men’s singles, coming after Eala and Andreeva’s match.
Eala’s teammates in Team Li Na include Ugo Humbert and China’s Juncheng Shang.
Meanwhile, Andreeva is joined by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Yibing Wu in Team Conchita.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.