By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Hours after a singles breakthrough win, Alex Eala and doubles partner Nikola Bartunkova suffered a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 defeat to the eighth-seeded pair Jelena Ostapenko and Sofia Kenin, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the opening round of Wimbledon doubles on Friday, July 3 (Philippine time).
Despite the raves and praises she received after her stunning win over Maya Joint in the second round, Eala couldn’t sustain the momentum as she and Bartunkova ran out of gas against their seasoned rivals.
Eala and Bartunkova, who actually played against each other in the finals of the Birmingham Classic that the Filipina won, started off strong by claiming the first set, before Ostapenko and Kenin regained their bearings and dominated the next two frames.
Ostapenko, a 2024 US Open doubles champion, and Kenin, a two-time doubles quarterfinalist, advanced to the second round where they will face either the pair of McCartney Kessler and Diana Shnaider, or the tandem of Anastasia Detiuc and Irina Khromacheva.
