STRUGGLING to find her footing, Alex Eala succumbed to Belgium’s Elise Mertens, WTA no. 21, 2-6, 1-6, ending her stint at the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open in Spain on Friday night, Manila time.
This capped off her third clay tournament following a second-round exit in Linz and a first-round exit in Stuttgart.
Eala, WTA No. 44, now moves to a 2-3 win-loss record and a 0-2 personal head-to-head against the doubles world No. 1.
Eala struggled to find rhythm early as Mertens surged to a commanding 6-2 first-set win, capitalizing on quick breaks and consistent pressure to keep Eala on the back foot despite a brief push at 2-3.
The second set saw Mertens tighten her grip even further with a dominant 4-0 start, and although Eala managed to get on the board, the Belgian swiftly closed it out 6-1 with clinical serving and control from the baseline.
The match lasted 1 hour and 16 minutes.
Next for Eala is the WTA 1000 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, which runs from May 5 to May 17.
Before her clay-court swing, she competed in Auckland, Australia, Manila, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Dubai, Indian Wells, and Miami.
Eala, though, is still alive in the women’s doubles play with partner Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey.
They will face second-seeded pair of American Taylor Townsend, world no. 5, and Katerina Siniakova, world no. 2, in the round of 16 on Sunday with the specific time still to be announced.
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