Her Thailand Open campaign is over.
Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala has bowed out of the Thailand Open,
losing in straight sets — 6-2, 6-2 — to German veteran Tatjana Maria at True
Arena in Hua Hin, Thailand.
The 17-year-old Eala looked overmatched against the
35-year-old Maria, who broke the Filipina right on the very first game en route
to winning 6 of 10 break points. The German, who reached the semis in last year’s
Wimbledon, seized complete control of the match from that point forward, at one
point winning six consecutive games against the seemingly tentative teenager.
Eala reached the Thailand Open’s main draw with a couple of
impressive victories over the weekend, both of which saw Eala cruise in the
first set before hanging tough in the second. She got her campaign off to a
rousing start on Saturday, beating China’s Han Xinyun, 6-1, 7-6 (6), in the
first round of qualifiers. Eala then beat Belarus’ Kristina Dmitruk in the
second qualifier on Sunday to barge into the round of 32.
Unfortunately, the Filipina teen sensation, ranked 217th in
the world, could not overcome the power and veteran savvy of Maria, ranked 63rd
in the WTA rankings.
It will be back to the proverbial drawing board for the
Vietnam SEA Games bronze medalist, who holds the distinction of being the
highest-ranked Filipina player in WTA Tour history.