By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala showed resilience but eventually ran out of gas, succumbing to seventh seed Wang Xinyu, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, in the semifinals of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday, Jan. 10.
The fourth-seeded Eala mustered all her might to crawl back from a 0-4 deficit in the pivotal third set but ultimately fell short against her lower-ranked yet more experienced Chinese opponent in a grueling match that lasted two hours and 48 minutes.
Still, it marked a strong start to the season for Eala, who achieved an impressive run in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA 250) tournament. She also finished in the semifinals of the doubles with American Iva Jovic after yielding to third seed Chinese veterans Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan, 5-7, 3-6, the other day.
Eala overcame a slow start in the first set, rallying mightily from a1-5 deficit to prevail in a fightback that surprised even the jaded sports journalists back home.
But Wang was far from over as she gave Eala a dose of her own medicine, bouncing back from a 3-5 deficit to force a decider.
The 24-year-old Wang, ranked four spots below Eala at No. 57, surged to a 5-1 lead in the final set, yet the Filipina star refused to back down, winning three consecutive games to stay in contention.
In the end, however, Wang held her serve to close out the match.
On her way to the semis, she secured emphatic victories over 2024 Paris Olympics silver medalist Donna Vekic, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; Petra Marcinko, 6-0, 6-2; and 2021 French Open semifinalist Magda Linette, 6-3, 6-2.
Up next for Eala is the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, Australia starting on Tuesday, Jan. 13, which serves as a warm-up for the Australian Open scheduled late this month.
