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Tennis: Alex Eala ousted in Australian Open qualifying debut

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Rosy Mina

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Alex Eala of Philippines trains during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 24, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Matthew Stockman, Getty Images via AFP" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/overseas/01/09/20210324-eala-alex-afp-1308954195.jpg"/><figcaption>Alex Eala of Philippines trains during the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 24, 2021 in Miami Gardens, Florida.<em> Matthew Stockman, Getty Images via AFP</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA – In her first professional foray into a grand slam, Alex Eala of the Philippines suffered a 6-4, 6-7(1), 3-6 loss to former Top 30 ace Misaki Doi of Japan in the qualifying opening round of the Australian Open (AO) on Monday. </p><p>Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) World No. 214 Eala, 17, was edged out by 31-year-old World No. 308 Doi in 2 hours and 37 minutes at Court 8 of Melbourne Park.</p><p>Eala, singles champion of the 2022 US Open Juniors, 2022 W25 Chiang Rai, and 2021 W15 Manacor, needed to win three qualifying matches to advance to the AO main draw. <br/> <br/>The Filipino tennis star kicked things off with a 4-2 edge, and two-time WTA 125K Series winner Doi responded by holding serve to love via an ace to be at 4-5.</p><p>After 42 minutes of play, Eala took the first set through a love service hold courtesy of a Doi backhand forced error, 6-4, prompting the Rafa Nadal Academy scholar to shout, “Come on!”</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/10/22/22/what-it-took-for-alex-eala-to-become-a-tennis-world-champ">READ: How Alex Eala became a world-class tennis champion</a></li></ul><p>The left-handers continued to battle closely in the second set until Eala pulled away, 4-2, after holding serve on her second advantage point by forcing a netted forehand service return.</p><p>Eala served twice for the match at 5-2 and 5-4, but Doi, who reached the 2016 Wimbledon fourth round, broke and went on to secure the lead, 6-5, after saving three break points.</p><p>The Filipino teen forced a tiebreak with a forehand winner, but was unable to keep up as former World No. 30 Doi dominated the decider, 7-6(1). </p><p>The third set ensued after Doi received a medical timeout (MTO), and it was the Japanese who got the early lead, 3-1.</p><p>After holding serve for 2-3, Eala called for an MTO. Doi advanced to 4-2, to which Eala replied with a love service hold.</p><p>Serving to stay in the match at 3-5, Eala fought off two match points before Doi broke for the win, 6-3, with a backhand down-the-line passing shot. </p><p>In the second round of qualifying, Doi will go up against No. 14 seed and World No. 113 Laura Pigossi of Brazil.</p><p>Prior to her pro grand slam debut, Eala talked about her off-season on her International Tennis Federation (ITF) blog.</p><p>“My team and I did everything we planned to, executing everything really well. I was so happy with how my team constructed those five weeks,” wrote the two-time junior girls’ doubles grand slam champion of the 2020 Australian Open and 2021 Roland Garros.</p><p>“There was a significant focus upon my fitness during this period and I did a lot of aerobic exercises, while towards the end we concentrated more on specific training, points and technique. I feel in good shape.”</p><p>The AO Qualifiers was Eala’s second event of the year, following the W60 Canberra where she went out in the second round of qualifying. </p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2264330" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

In her first professional foray into a grand slam, Alex Eala suffered a 6-4, 6-7(1), 3-6 loss to former Top 30 ace Misaki Doi of Japan.