By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense Alex Eala and Venus Williams saw their Bad Homburg Open women’s doubles campaign come to an end after falling to Olivia Nicholls of Great Britain and Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia in the quarterfinals in Germany on Thursday, June 25 (Philippine time).

The Filipina-American pairing was outplayed in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, as No. 2 seed Nicholls and Mihalikova secured a place in the semifinals of the WTA 500 grass-court tournament.

Eala and Williams struggled to capitalize on their opportunities, converting just three of seven break-point chances, while their opponents made the most of theirs by winning seven of nine break points.

Both teams finished with six double faults and failed to hit an ace, but Nicholls and Mihalikova were more efficient on serve.

They won 63 percent of points on their first serve and 75 percent on their second serve, compared to 49 percent and 57 percent, respectively, for Eala and Williams.

The British-Slovak duo also dominated the overall statistics, winning 59 total points to 47 and taking 12 games compared to just five by Eala and Williams.

Nicholls and Mihalikova, likewise, held the edge in receiving points won, 31-22, and service points won, 28-25, while claiming five service games against only two by the Eala-Williams tandem.

Despite the quarterfinals exit, Eala wrapped up a productive doubles campaign in Bad Homburg after partnering with seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Williams ahead of Wimbledon./ASC, WDJ