Alex Eala suffers early exit in Miami Open

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala could not make the most of her second stint in the Miami Open main draw as she was sent packing her bags early by World No. 34 Irina-Camelia Begu in the Round of 128 on Tuesday.

After going up 5-1 in the second set, Eala failed to force a decider as the 32-year-old saved five set points in a netfest that lasted an hour and 51 minutes to move on to the next round, 6-2, 7-5.

As she held a 5-3 lead, Eala did not break the Romanian's serve in the marathon eight-deuce tussle as she missed out on converting four more set points.

The 17-year-old then wavered against her more seasoned opponent as she was blanked the rest of the way as Begu set up a clash with No. 23 seed Zheng Qinwen in the second round.

This is Eala's third try at a main draw in the WTA Tour as she played in the 2021 Winners Open and in the 2022 Miami Open.

Back in early 2021, she received a wildcard in the qualifying draw in Miami as well.

Earlier this year, she also made her debut in the qualifying draw of the 2023 Australian Open women's singles tournament where she lost her first match.

Currently, the 17-year-old is looking to punch another ticket to a women's grand slam qualifying round, this time at Roland Garros.