Alex Eala's debut at the Pan Pacific Open ended in the quarterfinals on Friday in Tokyo, where Diana Shnaider won 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4. The 21-year-old from the Philippines said she leaves Japan with "high motivation" for one more tournament this season in Hong Kong.
Alex Eala Tokyo exit comes after a three-set battle
Eala, ranked world number 19, won five straight games to take control of the opening set. The second set was far tighter: neither player broke serve, and Shnaider, the third seed and world number 13, edged the tie-break.
Shnaider went a break up early in the third set. Eala needed treatment on her right foot before the Russian closed the match with an ace. The source report gives no diagnosis or prognosis for the foot, so her physical status ahead of Hong Kong is not confirmed.
Eala described the match as "a huge battle" and said both players reached a very high level. She added that she was proud of the performance despite the loss, while acknowledging she had chances she wants to take better next time.
Hong Kong is the last stop of a breakthrough season
Eala has one tournament left in a season that made her the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour title, in Washington in August. She is expected to be among the favorites in Hong Kong.
She said she is deliberately postponing any reflection on the year. "I'm trying to put my reflections off for one more week because of said motivation. Check back in a week," she said.
Tokyo was her second trip to Japan in two months, following a semifinal run at the Asian Games in Nagoya. Eala said playing in front of a large, passionate group of Philippines fans in that atmosphere is always special, and that she enjoyed her time in the country regardless of tennis.
Shnaider advances to face Mia Pohankova
Shnaider will play Mia Pohankova in the semifinals after the 18-year-old Slovakian beat American Alycia Parks 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. In the other semifinal, Uzbekistan's Kamilla Rakhimova faces Canada's Leylah Fernandez.
Fernandez advanced when world number one Elena Rybakina withdrew with a neck injury.
The original report was published by gmanetwork.com.
