Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala was booted out of Indian Wells by another Czech player, Linda Noskova in the quarterfinal.
Alex Eala wrapped up her stint in Indian Wells after a lopsided loss to Linda Noskova, 6-2, 6-0, in the quarterfinals in California on Wednesday afternoon (Manila time).
Eala started flat and could not recover as she continued on her streak of losing against Czech players—she's lost 11 games straight against players from Czechia.
The 20-year-old had previously beaten Noskova in the juniors, but was unable to get anything going in their first meeting on the WTA Tour stage.
In the opening set, Noskova broke Eala's serve to set the tone.
She jumped to a 2-0 start which helped her gain early control of the match, even as Eala tried to recover, getting within a game, 2-3.
A crucial break in Eala's serve was the tipping point in momentum after Noskova buried her in a 2-5 deficit in the set.
Noskova won the last nine games of the match in the dominating victory.
Eala thus moves her attention to the Miami Open, the second tournament in the Sunshine Swing where she hopes to replicate her semifinals run last year—a crucial performance which launched her into fame.
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.