FILIPINO tennis sensation Alex Eala bowed out of the final leg of the International Tennis Federation W15 Manacor after she got beaten by Russian rival Oksana Selekhmeteva, 6-2, 6-3, on Friday night, February 5, in Mallorca, Spain.
In a battle between two youngsters, it was the 18-year-old Selekhmeteva who grabbed the upper hand early as she scored four straight points to shatter a 2-2 deadlock and take the first set. In the second set, Eala fought hard and was neck-to-neck with the Russian at 3-3 until she got her serve broken.
She could not recover from that point onwards as Selekhmeteva's ground game proved too good to stop.
Selekhmeteva, who is ranked 611th in the WTA and 795th in the ITF singes rankings, now advances to the semifinals of this tournament.
The 15-year-old Eala, on the other hand, will exit at the quarterfinals stage for the second straight tournament after winning the title in the first leg a few weeks ago. (JNP)