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| Wang Xinyu eliminated Alex Eala from the ASB Classic. ASB Classic |
MANILA--For the second straight day, Alex Eala's quest for a championship in the ASB Classic rammed through a great wall from China as Wang Xinyu overcame a Set 1 collapse for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 win in their Saturday semifinal duel at the ASB Tennis Centre in Auckland.
Eala, seeded third in the tournament, stole Set 1 as Wang, the seventh seed, could not seal the deal despite getting to five games first.
However, it was Eala's turn to blow a huge set lead as she was already within match point and up, 5-3, in Set 2, only for Wang to win the last four games to force Set 3.
Wang raced to a 3-0 lead in the decider and looked to be on cruise control as Eala got hurt.
However, Eala showed heart and drew to within 4-5 before Wang clinched Game 10 to finally close it out.
Eala's singles defeat came one day after she and Iva Jovic fell to the Chinese pair of Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan in the women's doubles semis.
Despite coming two wins short of a breakthrough WTA 250 title, Eala is expected to enter the Top 50 again based on the WTA live projected rankings ahead of the Australian Open next week.
There is a chance, though, that Eala could meet Wang again later this month as the Philippine Tennis Association confirmed on Thursday night that Wang will play in the Philippine Women's Open at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Eala can join the WTA 125 as a wildcard, but that is if she does not go deep into the Australian Open, whose Week 2 coincides with the Jan. 26-31 playdates for the Philippine Women's Open main draw.
