ALEX Eala will now turn her focus to her singles campaign after she and partner Iva Jovic of the United States succumbed to Chinese pair Yifan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang, 5-7, 3-6, in the doubles competition of the WTA 250 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, on Friday afternoon.
The first-time Filipina-American duo struggled to regain momentum after the Chinese veterans recovered from a two-game deficit to open the match.
From 4-all, the contest turned into a see-saw battle, with the Asian pair racing to an extended set to claim the opening-set advantage.
READ: Eala finally breaks through Linette en route to ASB Classic semis
In the second set, Eala and Jovic briefly regained the lead at 3-2, but their foes proved too strong, reeling off four straight games to seal the win in a match that lasted one hour and 26 minutes.
The Chinese pair will next face second seeds Hanyu Guo of China and Kristina Mladenovic of France in the championship round.
Eala and Jovic reached the semifinals following a quarterfinal walkover and a solid opening-round victory against Elina Svitolina and Venus Williams.
In singles play, Eala moves on to face China’s Xinyu Wang, WTA No. 57, after defeating Magda Linette earlier in the day.
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