Alex Eala’s Wuhan Open campaign got off to a disappointing turn after she suffered a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 loss to world No. 217 Shi Han of China in the women’s singles Round of 64 on Monday.
The 21-year-old Eala failed to build on her opening-set win, bowing out after two hours and 39 minutes in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 tournament.
Shi, also 21, became the lowest-ranked player to beat Eala in a tournament, surpassing world No. 180 Tatiana Prozorova of Russia, who defeated the Filipina in the Singapore Open last September.
The Chinese netter said she entered the match against the world No. 18 with little pressure, knowing she had nothing to lose against a top-20 opponent.
“My opponent, Alex, is a wonderful player in Asia. Before the match, I prepared myself for the possibility of losing, so I felt I had nothing to lose,” Shi said.
“I tried to push myself on serve, put pressure on her and do my best to win the match.”
Eala still has the women’s doubles event to look forward to, as she and world No. 59 Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey take on Ukrainians Dayana Yastremska and Anhelina Kalinina in the Round of 32 on Tuesday.
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