Sourced online by Tracy Cabrera
Filipina tennis star Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala missed her play to exit the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 500 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, falling short against Russian nemesis Diana Shnaider, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, in the tournament’s quarterfinals.
Starting strong in the first set, Shnaider won the opening game before Eala claimed the next five to take control. Shnaider managed to win another game, but her 21-year-old rival managed to regroup to close out the set.
The second set, however, was a different affair as it proved to be a much tighter battle with both players trading games to force a 6-6 tie.
In the tiebreak, Shnaider was able to hold on to a 5-3 lead before Eala won two consecutive points to level the score. But a double fault from the country’s pride allowed the world’s number 14 to regain the lead.
Using her fave double-handed backhand, Shnaider then won the next point to take the set and force a deciding third set.
In the decider, the Russian ace took an early 3-1 lead before Eala managed to win another game. Eala called for a medical timeout in the sixth game due to an issue with her left foot. Shnaider then extended her lead to 4-2 before Eala claimed another game. She then took the eighth game to inch closer, but Eala salvaged one more game. In the deciding game, Shnaider had an ace to claim the victory.
“Honestly, I feel like this match deserved to be a final. It was an insane level of tennis from both of us,” Shnaider said in the post-match interview.
“I didn’t believe that I would be able to pull that win off because she played insane. I was just trying to keep reminding myself to keep fighting for every point. As you see on the score, it was a very tight second set. So yeah, definitely just fighting for every point and that paid off.”
This marked Eala’s second consecutive loss to Shnaider, who also defeated the Filipina in their previous meeting in Ningbo, 7-5, 6-4.
Shnaider will face Mia Pohankova in the semifinals. Pohankova advanced after defeating Naomi Osaka, 7-6(3), 6-3, in the quarterfinals.
Eala, meanwhile, is expected to return to action next week at the WTA 250 Hong Kong Open, which will mark her final WTA tournament appearance for the year.
