Eala bows to champion foe, exits Italian Open

Sports

ALEX Eala showed flashes of brilliance but two-time Grand Slam champion Elena Rybakina was simply a tough nut to crack.

The Filipina tennis sensation bowed out of title contention after yielding to the world No. 2 Kazakhstani, 4-6, 3-6, in the third round of the WTA 1000 Italian Open in Rome on Sunday (Philippine time), May 10.

The 20-year-old Eala kept the game close but Rybakina banked on a near flawless game to pull through. Eala committed five double faults while the 26-year-old Rybakina had none.

With the win, Rybakina, who ruled the tournament’s 2023 edition, advanced to the Round of 16 where she will take on former world No. 1 Czech Karolina Pliskova.

The loss ended Eala’s decent run that saw her defeat Polish veteran Magdalena Frech in the first round, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4, and Chinese Xinyu Wang in the Last 64, 6-4, 6-3.

Currently ranked No. 42 in the world, Eala will be shifting her focus to the doubles event where she will pair with American Hailey Baptiste against the No. 1 seed duo in Czech Kateřina Siniaková and USA's Taylor Townsend.

From Rome, Eala will travel to France to compete in this year’s French Open, which is scheduled from May 24 to June 7.(CCM)