It was a bittersweet ending for the last grass court tournament of Alex Eala this year as she lost in the Round 1 of Wimbledon Open Women’s Doubles last night, July 3.
Too Good to Handle for Eala and Lys
The pride of the Philippines, Alex Eala and her German partner, Eva Lys, couldn’t match the more experienced tandem of Quinn Gleason and Ingrid Martins
Ranked no. 56, Eala opened the match by holding serve and saving three break points to give the Filipina-German pair an early lead, but their momentum quickly faltered as ranked no. 70 Gleason and ranked no. 80 Martins broke Lys’ serve in the third game. Although Eala and Lys managed to steady themselves and hold serve through most of the set, they couldn’t convert on multiple break opportunities in the eighth and tenth games. Gleason and Martins capitalized and secured the first set after 44 minutes.
Final Score of Set 1: 6-4
In the second set, Eala and Lys again held their serve to begin the frame, but the American-Brazilian duo broke through in the third game with a forehand winner to take a 2-1 advantage.
Eala and Lys tried to mount a comeback, forcing six break-point chances in the fourth game, which was the longest of the match; however, they failed to convert any of them. That missed opportunity swung the momentum definitively in favor of Gleason and Martins, who consolidated their lead with a second break and never looked back.
Final Score of Set 2: 6-2
A Tandem Tested Through Time and Championships
Throughout the match, the 30-year-old Gleason and the 28-year-old Martins generated 11 break-point opportunities, converting three of them, while maintaining strong pressure on the service games of their opponents.
The final scoreline reflected their dominance as they closed out the 84-minute encounter by holding serve to love in the final game.
This win for the veteran duo is a testament to their greatness, as they have shown in the past that they can win it all. The duo have won the WTA 125 Montreux Ladies Open and WTA 250 Merida Open last year, as well as the WTA 125 Città di Grado Tennis Cup this June.
Though Gleason and Martins only entered the draw as last-minute replacements for the original opponent of Alex Eala, who were Serbia’s Anna Danilovic and Russia’s Anastasia Potapova, who withdrew earlier in the week.
The two are set to face the tandem of No. 7 Mirra Andreeva and No. 15 Diana Shnaider in Round 2.
Still A Winner In The Eyes of Filipino
Despite exiting both the 1st round of Women’s Singles and Doubles in the Grand Slam at Wimbledon, Alex Eala is still viewed as a solidified winner in the eyes of every Filipino.
In her singles debut match, she battled the defending champion Barbora Krejcikova in 3 Sets before losing. And in the previous Eastbourne Open, she made it up until the Finals only to lose against the 19 year old Maya Joint through 3 Sets as well.
Up Next: Preparations for U.S. Open
As previously reported, Alex Eala will take a short break but will soon participate in hard-court tournaments leading up to her playing in the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, which is the U.S. Open, which will begin on August 24 up until September 7.
