Eala exits Ningbo Open after falling short vs Russian foe

Alex Eala fought back against multiple match points but ultimately fell to world No. 13 Diana Shnaider, booting out of the WTA 500 Ningbo Open, 7–5, 6–4 in China on Oct. 22.

The Filipina tennis ace once again showed her fierce determination in not going away easily, saving six match points in the 10th game of the second set before the Shnaider finally closed out the match to advance to the quarterfinals.

Tied at 4-all in the opener, Shnaider broke Eala’s serve in the 9th and 11th games to take the match lead.

A different script emerged in the second set as both sides exchanged break points throughout the first six games of the frame, knotting at 3-all.

Eala, however, snapped the sequence of broken serves as she held her own despite squandering a comfortable 40–15 lead in the seventh game before eventually regaining her footing to nab a 4–3 cushion.

But that emerged to be the Filipina’s final point of the tournament as the 22-year-old Russian mounted a 3–0 run to close the match in one hour and 56 minutes of action.

Eala will look to rebound at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, Japan, which runs from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1.