ALEX Eala’s hopes were quickly dashed in Melbourne as she stumbled in the first round of womens singles qualifiers of the Australian Open, falling against Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson in two sets, 2-6, 5-7, on Tuesday.
Eala fightback falls short
The 18-year-old couldn’t force a third-set decider in the early morning session as she fumbled late in the second after taking a 5-4 lead.
Peterson broke the Filipina hitter’s serve in a crucial 11th game to gain the 6-5 advantage, even as Eala fought tooth and nail to save her campaign. The teenager forced four deuces against her foe in the pivotal game.
The Swede then served her way to victory as she seized an early 40-15 lead in Game 12 that Eala just couldn’t bring herself out of.
Eala struggled against the more seasoned Peterson who used her service game to her advantage, as she finished with six aces against Eala’s two. She also had almost twice as many winners (30) than Eala (16) in the netfest that lasted an hour and 48 minutes.
Eala, ranked 187th in the world, had planned to see action in all four grand slams this 2024.
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