Alex Eala’s highly-anticipated Grand Slam debut was spoiled by Emilia Arango, who outlasted the Filipina 6-0, 2-6, 6-3 in a hard-fought opening-round encounter on the French Open.
The match served as a rematch of final yr’s Miami Open qualifiers, the place Arango additionally triumphed.
Regardless of Eala’s regular rise within the rankings, now world No. 69, the 88th-ranked Colombian as soon as once more proved a difficult impediment, utilizing her court docket craft and consistency to grind out one other victory.
Arango got here out firing within the opening set, steamrolling Eala with out dropping a recreation. The Colombian broke serve thrice and held her personal with ease, making use of relentless stress by deep returns and a gentle baseline recreation.
Eala struggled to seek out rhythm, tallying 17 unforced errors in opposition to Arango’s mere 4.
The tide shifted within the second set.
Eala steadied her groundstrokes and improved her first-serve share, managing to go toe-to-toe with Arango in prolonged rallies.
The 20-year-old Filipina edged forward 3-2 earlier than a rain delay briefly halted play. When motion resumed, Eala rode the momentum, successful three straight video games — together with two key breaks — to take the set 6-2 and drive a decider.
However Arango shortly reasserted management within the last set, breaking Eala’s serve within the opening recreation.
Each gamers held serve by the following six video games, however Eala was unable to make inroads on return. Serving to remain within the match at 5-3 down, Eala faltered below stress, permitting Arango to earn the decisive break and seal the win.
The loss denied Eala a possible high-profile second-round matchup in opposition to No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen of China — her former conqueror on the 2023 Asian Video games and the reigning Olympic champion.
For Eala, the promising debut ends in disappointment, however the expertise presents useful classes as she continues her push towards breaking by on the WTA Tour.
In getting this far, she had already change into the primary participant from the Philippines to succeed in the principle draw of a Grand Slam within the Open period.
