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Tennis: Alex Eala ousted in W25 Madrid quarters

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Rosy Mina

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Filipino teen tennis star Alex Eala at the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam in May. Photo courtesy of the Vietnam Tennis Federation." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/06/07/20220607-eala.jpg"/><figcaption>Filipino teen tennis star Alex Eala at the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam in May. <em>Photo courtesy of the Vietnam Tennis Federation.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p><br/>Alex Eala of the Philippines was edged out by No. 8 seed Alice Robbe of France, 6-7(3), 3-6, in the quarterfinals of the W25 Madrid tournament in Spain on Friday.</p><p>Eala and Robbe, who partnered in the doubles draw for a quarterfinal result, were the first to battle it out on Court 13 of Ciudad de la Raqueta.</p><p>WTA World No. 331 Robbe, 22, was the first to break serve in their quarterfinal for a 4-2 lead.</p><p>Eala, the 17-year-old WTA World No. 419, answered with a break and service hold to catch up at 4-4.</p><p>They continued to hold serve until they reached 6-6, with Eala saving a set point in the 12th game, and then headed into a tiebreak.</p><p>A forehand winner from Robbe gave her a 3-1 lead, but a backhand error followed by a netted forehand from the French allowed Eala to level at 3-3.</p><p>Robbe went on to win the next four points to take the first set, 7-6(3), converting her first of three set points after Eala committed a smash error.</p><p>In the second set, Robbe gained a 2-0 edge after saving two break points.</p><p>The French netter extended her lead to 5-0, courtesy of two double faults by the Filipino teen.</p><p>Eala, a Rafa Nadal Academy player, broke serve with a backhand cross-court winner as Robbe was serving for the match.</p><p>She held serve then broke again to be at 3-5, after Robbe hit a backhand long.</p><p>In the ninth game, with Eala on serve, the Filipino was faced with two match points after hitting a backhand error.</p><p>Robbe wasted no time in breaking serve, and she secured a slot in the semifinals with the win, 6-3, following a netted forehand from Eala. </p><p>While both players had a 1st Serve In of 57 percent, Robbe improved her 2nd Serve In to 91 percent and Eala fell short at 73 percent.</p><p>Robbe had no aces and three double faults, while Eala had one ace and eight double faults. </p><p>On her way to the quarterfinals, Eala defeated Arina Gabriela Vasilescu of Romania in the first round, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2, and No. 4 seed Xiaodi You of China in the second round, 6-4, 6-2.</p><p>In the doubles draw, Eala and Robbe upset No. 3 seeds Alana Parnaby and Ivana Popovic of Australia in the first round, 6-3, 6-3, and lost to Zoe Hives of Australia and Katherine Sebov of Canada, 0-6, 4-6, in the quarters.</p><p>Eala, an International Tennis Federation (ITF) Grand Slam Player Development Programme recipient, has two professional titles on the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour.</p><p>She bagged her maiden title at the W15 Manacor tourney in Spain in January 2021 and clinched the W25 Chiang Rai championship in Thailand in April. </p><p>In the juniors, the former ITF Junior Player Grants Programme recipient won the girls’ doubles titles at the 2020 Australian Open and 2021 Roland Garros. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/10/22/tennis-alex-eala-enters-w25-madrid-quarterfinals">Tennis: Alex Eala into W25 Madrid QF after upset of No. 4 seed</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/06/09/22/alex-eala-powers-through-to-w25-madrid-2nd-round">Tennis: Alex Eala powers through to W25 Madrid 2nd round</a></li></ul><div> </div><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=1705043" 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>

Alex Eala was edged out by No. 8 seed Alice Robbe of France, 6-7(3), 3-6, in the quarterfinals of the W25 Madrid tournament in Spain on Friday.