Eala yields to French foe in ITF Spain semis

Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala yielded to French Jessika Ponchet of France, 6-2, 4-6, 2-6, in the semifinals to exit the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz at the Pista Amution outdoor hard court of Peña Victoriana Tenis Club in Spain on Saturday, July 22 (Manila time).

Alex Eala PHOTO FROM EALA’S FB PAGE

It was a sorry loss for Eala who got off to a rousing start as she took the first set and even led, 3-0, in the second frame only for Ponchet to dominate from there and enter the finals.

Ranked no. 137 in the world, Ponchet, 26, displayed her tremendous composure and skill to turn back Eala, 18.

Tied at 2-2 in the deciding third set, Ponchet broke Eala's serve in the fifth game which set up her three straight game wins and the match victory.

Three-time ITF singles champ Eala, unseeded in this Spain tilt, has now lost three of her four matches against the third seed Ponchet.

Prior to the semis defeat, Eala took down Romanian fifth seed Jaqueline Cristian in the opening round, 7-6(5), 6-7(1), 6-2, Chinese qualifier Tianmi Mi in the second round, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-0, and Spanish Lucia Cortez Llorca in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

Eala's semis stint Vitoria-Gasteiz is her best finish in a W100 tournament yet.

Winner of nine ITF singles titles, Ponchet, meanwhile, is set to face Ukrainian sixth seed and World No. 155 Daria Snigur.