ALEX Eala was sent crashing back to earth by Indonesian Janice Tjen, who ousted the Filipina at the quarterfinal stage of the Sao Paulo Open, 4-6, 1-6, early Saturday morning, Manila time.
The victory halted the world No. 61’s seven-game win streak as well as her bid for back-to-back WTA titles as Tjen needed only an hour and 12 minutes to reach her first-ever semifinal on the WTA 250 tour.
SEA Games grudge match?
At world No. 130, Tjen is also the highest-ranked Indonesian tennis player who, if both commit, will face off with Eala in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand in December.
Before this Brazil stint, Eala was riding high after clinching her first WTA title at the Guadalajara 125 in Mexico, just three days before joining the Sao Paulo Open.
On the other hand, the 23-year-old Indonesian will next face the winner of the match between Francesca Jones and Solana Sierra in what will be the biggest match yet of her WTA career.
The 20-year-old Eala struggled with net errors after opening a 3-0 lead in just nine minutes.
Once Tjen leveled at 3-3, she never looked back, taking the lead for good at 5-4 before closing out the opening set, 6-4, in 38 minutes.
Eala tried to reset in the second, even grinding through an eight-minute rally to draw first blood at 1-0. But Tjen stayed composed, reeling off five straight games to surge ahead 5-1 and take full control of the match.
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