Eala, doubles partner crash out of W40 Petange

MANILA, Philippines -- Alex Eala’s quest for a first doubles’ title will have to wait after falling to the top-seeded pair of Ali Collins of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands’ Isabelle Haverlag in the semifinal of the W40 Petange in Luxembourg, 6-2, 7-6(4), Friday night (Manila time).

Eala and her partner, Turkiye’s Zeynep Sonmez, had a spirited run in the second set, but they ran out of gas and bowed out of the competition.

After tying the first set at 1-1, Eala and Sonmez dropped four straight games as the Collins-Haverlag duo was just too much.

The Filipina-Turkish pair won the seventh game after being down 40-15, but Collins and Haverlag broke a 30-30 tie in the eighth game to win the set.

Eala and Sonmez seemingly flipped the script in the second set as they jumped to a 4-1 lead.

The No. 1 seeded pair then won four straight games to move to within match point.

The unranked duo, however, tied the set at 5, and subsequently, at 6.

Collins and Haverlag then asserted their mastery and won the final game.

Eala’s doubles’ loss came a few hours after she reached the semifinals of the singles’ competition.

She won over the Netherlands’ Jasmjin Gimbrere to barge into the semis.