Alex Eala bows out of the Thailand Open after facing one of her toughest opponents to date, Tatjana Maria, last year’s Wimbledon semifinalist.
After qualifying for the main draw of the Thailand Open, Filipino tennis champion Alex Eala was immediately faced with a tall order, as she was put up against Tatjana Maria in the first round.
Maria is a German professional tennis player who currently sits at 63rd in the world on the WTA Rankings. She has reached a career-high rank of 46th and has won two singles and four doubles titles on the WTA Tour.
Most notable, however, is the 35-year-old’s appearance in the Wimbledon semifinals last year, where she lost to Ons Jabeur.
Comparatively, at just 17 years old, Alex Eala currently holds a WTA rank of 217. The Thailand Open marks her third main draw appearance in the WTA tournament and her fifth overall.
Given the German player’s experience over Alex Eala, she was able to ease into the second round, sweeping the 17-year-old in two sets, 6-2, 6-2.
Coming into the tournament, however, Eala saw a promising start.
In the qualifying rounds leading up to the main draw of the $250,000 tournament, the US Open Junior Grand Slam champ overcame Han Xinyun and Kristina Dmitruk, also sweeping both opponents in two rounds each.
Although she ends her campaign at the Thailand Open here, the Filipina will continue to fight for more breakthroughs in her career.
Banner image from Alex Eala on Instagram.
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