Eala’s Jingshan Open run ends after semifinal loss to New Zealand’s Lulu Sun

After a promising run that hiked Alex Eala to the semifinals of the WTA 125 Jingshan Open, Lulu Sun proved to be the star’s kryptonite, dashing her finals hopes in China. 

Eala, the lone WTA top-100 player in the Asian swing, fell short of reaching the finals after yielding in a three-set battle against Sun, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, at the Hubei Bank Tennis Center in China, Sept. 27.

Eala looked finals-ready after breaking Sun’s serve twice and dominating the opening set.

However, momentum shifted to the world No. 146 as Sun rallied from a 0-2 deficit to a 4-2 lead and forced a deciding set.

From there, the 24-year-old Kiwi overwhelmed Eala with a 4-0 surge before holding off the Filipina’s late rally to book a spot in the final after two hours and 13 minutes.

The loss marked Eala’s second setback against Sun and her second straight early exit since winning the Guadalajara 125 title, after being eliminated in the São Paulo Open quarterfinals before her tilt in China.

Sun, who had not dropped a set before facing Eala, will meet China’s world No. 234 Ma YeXin for the Jingshan Open title on Sept. 28.

Eala now has two days to regroup before entering the Suzhou WTA 125 Open as the fourth seed, which runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5.