Filipina tennis star Alex Eala failed to hold on to a one-set lead and bowed to Marketa Vondrousova for an early exit in the Canada Open, early yesterday morning in Manila.
Eala and Vondrousova traded early breaks in the first set on the grand Centre Court of the National Bank Open in Montreal.
The Filipina rising star made her intentions clear from the start, unleashing aggressive forehands and backhands on the hard court surface.
Vondrousova had several chances to break — eight in total during the opening set — but converted only one.
Eala scored a crucial break at 4-3, then held serve to go up 5-3 and served for the set. Energized by a vocal contingent of Filipino supporters in Montreal, Eala closed out the set, 6-3.
The 2023 Wimbledon champion bounced back in the second set, breaking early for a 1-0 lead and holding a point to extend it to 2-0.
But Eala responded with a clutch play to level the score at 1-1.
In the next game, Vondrousova faced a 0-40 deficit but rallied to hold serve and take a 2-1 lead — swinging momentum in her favor.
From there, Vondrousova took control, capitalizing on a string of unforced errors from Eala to win five of the next six games and take the second set, 6-1.
Riding that momentum, Vondrousova broke early in the third set to lead 1-0, then fired two aces in the following game.
Eala, however, showed resilience and broke back immediately to level the score at 1-1.
Vondrousova stepped up again, winning the next two games for a 3-1 advantage.
Eala held serve to stay within reach at 2-3, with Filipino fans continuing their passionate support for the 20-year-old.
In the pivotal sixth game, Vondrousova led 40-15, but Eala battled back with a blistering winner and benefited from a double fault to push the game to deuce. After a tense exchange, Vondrousova held serve for a 4-2 lead.
She then broke Eala in the seventh game and calmly served out the match, completing a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 comeback victory.
After the match, Vondrousova said: “I expected a tough match. I’m very happy to go through. She was very aggressive, so I tried to get a lot of balls back. My serve was much better in the second and third sets.”
Vondrousova advances to face Marta Kostyuk in the second round. (ABS-CBN News)