BATTLING fatigue, Alex Eala bowed to China’s Xinyu Wang, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, to exit the WTA 250 ASB Classic in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon in Auckland, New Zealand.
The Filipina, ranked No. 52, put up a strong fight, but struggled to sustain her momentum in the deciding set, calling a medical timeout against the world No. 57 who then pulled away decisively in the game that lasted two hours and 48 minutes.
Eala showed encouraging performance earlier in the game, as she won six consecutive games to take the opener after trailing at 1-5.
To reach the semifinal, Eala initially defeated Donna Vekic, Petra Marcinko, and Magda Linette en route to the final four.
READ: 'Warrior princess' Alex Eala winning matches as well as new fans
Wang, for her part, will now await the winner between top seed Eliva Svitolina and third seed Iva Jovic.
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