Eala falls to Noskova to end Berlin run

MANILA, Philippines -- No upsets this time around. 

Alex Eala ended her first Berlin Tennis Open in the semifinal round after absorbing a 2-6, 4-6 defeat against Czechia’s Linda Noskova early Sunday morning (Manila time) in Germany. 

Eala, who defeated multiple top 10 tennisters once again in the tournament, fell short of the finals berth after running into a Czechian brick wall. 

After a lengthy rain delay put a pause to the match before it started, Eala trailed by one game, 2-3, in the first set before Noskova slammed the door shut, 6-2.
And, in the second set, the 21-year-old pride of the Philippines won the first game before the Czechian won the next three games to go up 3-1. 

But the Filipina won the next three games of her own, going up 4-3, as she aimed to extend the match. 

Noskova, though, asserted her mastery once again and ended the match with a three-game finishing kick.

“I just had to adjust my game today, maybe a little bit because of the rain and maybe the temperature dropped a little bit. The court was maybe a little bit smaller, but as the match went on and we hit new balls, I kind of started to feel better and better,” Noskova said after the match.

“It was, you know, coming more naturally to me.” 

Noskova punched in nine aces against Eala’s two. The Czechian also won 36 service points to her opponent’s 22, while also winning 27 receiving points to her opponent’s 18. 

The Filipina defeated World No. 33 Donna Vekic, World No. 2 Elena Rybakina and World No. 8 Elina Svitolina in her run. 

Eala is set to have a quick turnaround as she faces Elise Mertens in Bad Homburg in the coming week. 

Noskova will take on Jessica Pegula in the final.