Filipina tennis star Alex Eala saw her Nottingham Open campaign come to an early end after falling to Polish sixth seed Magda Linette in straight sets on Tuesday (Manila time).
Linette secured a 6-4, 6-3 victory, advancing to the second round while Eala’s journey in the grass court tournament came to a close.
Eala had fought her way into the main draw after defeating Varvara Gracheva and Anca Todoni in the qualifiers. She started strong in her first-round match, racing to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. However, Linette quickly adjusted, winning five consecutive games to take control.
In the second set, Eala continued to battle, capitalizing on her groundstrokes and attacking short balls to edge ahead 2-1. Linette responded by holding serve to level the score at 2-all, then broke Eala to seize the lead for good. Despite a spirited effort from Eala—including saving four match points—Linette remained composed, closing out the match after an hour and 39 minutes.
With this defeat, Eala exits the Nottingham Open, while Linette moves forward in the tournament.
