MANILA, Philippines–Alex Eala bowed out of the Suzhou Open WTA 125 after losing to Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (0), in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Eala, seeded fourth in the tournament, blew match point in the third set before being blanked 7-0 in the tiebreak for another early exit in her Asian swing.
LIVE: Alex Eala vs Viktorija Golubic – Suzhou Open WTA 125 quarterfinals
The Filipino tennis ace, ranked No. 58 in the WTA, was coming off a semifinal finish in the Jingshan Tennis Open last weekend.
It was a frustrating loss for Eala, who won three straight games for a 6-5 edge in the decider and even reached match point at 40-15 before Golubic rallied to force the breaker.
She also squandered another strong start in the match, where she rolled through six straight games to take the opening set 6-2.
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Eala played all her matches in Suzhou in three sets. She beat Katarzyna Kawa in the round of 32, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, then survived a marathon three-hour battle against Belgium’s Greet Minnen, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 7-5, on Wednesday.
Eala has now reached the quarterfinals in all her campaigns since her Guadalajara Open 125 title last month, but has not advanced further.
Golubic, ranked No. 70 and seeded sixth in Suzhou, advances to the semifinals against No. 2 seed Tatjana Maria of Germany.
She tied the match against Eala with a strong second set, racing to a 4-0 lead before closing it out 6-2.