For the first time in a long while, Alex Eala faces early elimination in a WTA tournament, both in singles and doubles.
Early morning of June 4 (PH Date and Time), Alex lost against Linda Fruhvirtova of Czech Republic which immediately ended her journey at the WTA 125 Lexus Birmingham Open.
Valiant Effort in 3 Sets
Fruhvirtova, currently ranked No. 152 in the world, set the tone early by breaking Eala’s serve and racing to a 2-0 lead in the opening set. The 19-year-old Filipina, however, showed resilience, fighting off another potential break and clawing back to 1-2.
She later surged ahead 3-2, displaying sharp shot-making and tenacity, but the Czech’s steadiness kept the set on even terms.
The two players traded games in a tightly contested set that saw them level at 5-5. Fruhvirtova managed to break through to take a 6-5 lead and, despite Eala earning a break point, held her serve under pressure to seal the first set.
Final Score of Set 1: 7-5
Refusing to back down, ranked No. 73 came out with renewed energy in the second. She grabbed an early 2-0 advantage, but Fruhvirtova responded swiftly, evening the score at 2-all and then 3-all, as the match remained finely balanced. With neither player giving an inch, the set extended to a tiebreak.
Fruhvirtova initially held a 5-2 lead in the breaker, but Alex mounted a determined rally, winning five of the next six points to take the tiebreak 7-5 and force a deciding third set.
Final Score of Set 2: 7-6(5)
Despite the momentum shift, the Quezon City born athlete struggled to keep pace in the final frame. After the two were tied at 1-1, Fruhvirtova went on a commanding five-game run to close out the match. Her aggressive play and composure down the stretch proved too much
Final Score of Set 3: 6-1
It can be recalled that last June 2, the pairing of Alex and Rebeka Masarova from Switzerland also failed to move past the 1st round against their Australian opponents, Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez.
Path to Wimbledon 2025
Despite the frustrating losses, all of these are making Alex prepare more for the 2025 Wimbledon Championships set to be played in the grass courts of London, England.
The tournament is scheduled to begin from June 30 until July 13.
But for the meantime, as per the report of Dyan Castillejo of ABS CBN, Alex Eala is “scheduled to compete in more grass-court tournaments in the UK in the coming weeks to fine-tune her game and gain further experience on the surface.”
