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Coming from defeating the defending champion Iga Swiatek in the previous round, Alex Eala fails to create the same magic from that great victory as mistakes face him late against Jasmine Paolini who finished the 2024 final.
MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala shot himself in the foot with a costly mistake as his Wimbledon dream came to an end.
Eala bid farewell to the tournament after losing 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini of Italy in the round of 16 at the Center Court of the All England Club on Monday, July 6.
Come with an amazing chase defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland in the previous round, the Filipino failed to create the magic from that decisive victory as mistakes caused him to lose in the last two matches of the 2 hours and 21 minutes fight.
In perhaps the turning point of the match, Eala was eliminated in the eighth game of the deciding set, double-faulting and back-faulting in a row following the second deuce to see Paolini grab a 5-3 lead.
Eala then won the next two points in the next game, but her comeback bid was dismissed after she coughed up three straight faults to end the match.
The victory saw Paolini avenge her loss to Eala in the round of 32 of the Dubai Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates in February as the 30-year-old Italian leveled her first WTA Tour record at 1-1.
It was only the second time Paolini reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon after finishing second in 2024, where she lost to Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in the final.
Despite losing, Eala made history for the Philippines as the first Filipino to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament.
Eala, currently ranked 32nd in the world, started her campaign with a quick 6-1, 6-2 win over Mexico’s Renata Zarazua before avenging Australia’s Maya Joint for their 2025 Eastbourne Open clash with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory in a 6-0 round.
Then in one of the biggest matches of his career, Eala sent 2025 title-holder Swiatek packing by making it 7-6 (9), 6-2 in the round of 32.
If the WTA live rankings hold, Eala is expected to climb to a career high of No. 28. – Rappler.com
