ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA absorbed her earliest exit in two months, crashing out in the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open Round of 32 with a 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 loss to world No. 10 Amanda Anisimova on Tuesday despite a solid crowd in her favor anew at the Stadium Court of the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
The 21-year-old Filipina could not sustain her torrid start and lost steam down the stretch of the last two sets for a tough marathon defeat in two hours and 28 minutes, thus missing out on a milestone 10th overall win against Top 10 players in her young career.
Ms. Eala, No. 17 seed, also saw her five-game winning spree against top-ranked players in the world come to an end. Ranked No. 20 in the WTA, Ms. Eala is now 9-5 overall opposite Top 10 players with seven of those wins alone coming this season for a career year just yet.
The last time Ms. Eala exited in the Round of 32 was at the Bad Homburg in Germany last June. Save for a first-round elimination last May in Wimbledon, she had three more better finishes prior to setting the stage for a magnificent run on grass in England and hardcourt in the United States until running through the Ms. Anisimova wall.
Ms. Anisimova, the No. 9 seed in Ohio, showed immense composure when it mattered most to give Ms. Eala a “first” on a different end of the court this time around. Ms. Eala marched into duel carrying a bevy of “firsts” one after another for Philippine tennis, including being the first Filipino — man or woman — with the highest-seeded in any WTA 1000 tournament and highest world ranking in history.
A streak against the tennis giants and rare early exits at stake, Ms. Eala’s grit and heart stumbled for the first time since Wimbledon ahead of her anticipated hurrah in the US Open, the season’s final Grand Slam on Aug. 30 to Sept. 13 in Flushing Meadows, New York.
She had four straight three-setter wins in the last three tournaments. In the past two jousts, Ms. Eala had seven consecutive wins at one point as the longest in her blooming career and the longest among all players in the WTA at the time, highlighted by her first WTA Tour title in the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C.
And that caliber was in Ms. Eala’s full armory, at least in the first set after breaking the 24-year-old American twice in her 3-0 finishing kick from a 3-4 deficit to snatch a 1-0 set cushion.
Buoyed by a roaring Filipino crowd in Mason, Ohio like in every city she had been in the entire tour, Ms. Eala was actually ahead in both the second set, 3-2, for a possible sweep, and in the decider before running out gas.
Ms. Eala — who had a 6-1, 3-0 (ret) win over No. 74 Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania in the second round after gaining a bye in the Round of 128, held serve and scored another breakpoint to build a 2-0 lead in the clincher only to get blanked by Ms. Anisimova, a four-time WTA champion and two-time Grand Slam, the rest of the way.
Ms. Anisimova saved her best for last, serving out for a love game in the eighth to hack out a “tough” win and arrange a Round of 16 duel against Wimbledon champion and world No. 8 Linda Noskova of Czechia, who drubbed No. 27 Clara Tauson of Denmark, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, in their pairing.
“It was a really, really tough match so credits to Ms. Eala. She was playing some great tennis so I’m really happy with this win,” said Ms. Anisimova, who had three aces and forced Ms. Eala to seven double faults.
“I’m really proud of this performance actually for being able to find a way and kind of push myself there in the middle of the match. And yeah, I’m really happy with the way I was able to find my tennis and start fighting.”
Up next for Ms. Eala is New York, and she has two weeks to sharpen her saws and fully recover from a minor ankle injury that also took a toll on her chances in the WTA 1000 National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada last week.
And count on the ever-passionate Filipinos to be behind her once more for a fightback after going home early for only the first time in a long while. — John Bryan Ulanday