Eala shown the door at Cincinnati Open despite early lead
MANILA, Philippines — Meltdown in Cincinnati.
Alex Eala squandered a 1-0 lead and a 2-0 third-set advantage to fall against Amanda Anisimova, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, in a hard-fought Round-of-32 match in the Cincinnati Open Tuesday morning (Manila time).
Anisimova, ranked 10th in the world, showcased her mastery on the court despite visible frustration as she completed a come-from-behind victory in a match that lasted two hours and 28 minutes.
Despite the loss, Eala showcased that she is fully healthy ahead of the US Open.
The biggest question mark heading to the Cincinnati Open was Eala’s health, as the Filipina bowed out of the Canadian Open with an apparent ankle injury.
But it seems that is no longer an issue.
There was a point in the first set where, with Eala trailing 3-4 and the eighth game tied at 40-all, she was forced by Anisimova to go around the court, chasing the ball.
But the 21-year-old showed impeccable foot speed as she was able to return the American’s attempts, and eventually, Anisimova hit the ball long, giving Eala the advantage.
It surely turned the tides in the match, as the pride of the Philippines clawed out of the 3-4 deficit, winning the next three games to take the first set, 6-4.
Eala continued on with her rampage, taking the first game of the second set, 1-0, after holding her serve.
But the two traded games, with the World No. 20 tennister taking a 3-2 lead.
However, Anisimova went on a run of her own, winning back-to-back-to-back games to grab a 5-3 lead.
And while Eala kept herself alive, 4-5, Anisimova forced the third set, 6-4.
There, the Filipina had a strong start, going up 2-0.
Eala, however, seemed to run out of gas as she was blanked the rest of the way.
“I'm really proud of this performance actually for being able to find a way and kind of push myself there in the middle of the match. And yeah, I'm really happy with the way I was able to find my tennis and start fighting,” Anisimova said.
“So yeah, it was a really, really tough match and credit to Eala. She was playing some great tennis. So really happy with this win,” she added.
Anisimova will now be taking on Linda Noskova in the next round.
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