IT was a short-lived partnership late Monday night between the debuting pair of Filipina Alex Eala and Swiss Rebeka Masarova, who dropped a 4-6, 4-6 decision to the second-seeded Australian duo of Ellen Perez and Storm Hunter in the opening round of the WTA 125 Lexus Birmingham Open in Birmingham.
In their first grass court tournament together, Eala and Masarova were sent packing in just one hour and 11 minutes of play by the steady and solid Australian tandem.
Seeded No. 3 in the competition, the Pinay southpaw, ranked No. 73 in the Women’s Tennis Association world ratings, was back on the court last night at the start of the women’s singles against world No. 152 Czech Linda Fruhvirtova.
Eala, 20, is using the competition as part of her build-up for the Wimbledon Open, one of the four Grand Slams of tennis, scheduled June 30 to July 13 at the heritage-rich All-England grass courts in London.
She will be making her debut as a wild card in the main draw after reaching the third round of the qualifiers of the fabled meet last year.
