MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala had Amanda Anisimova on the ropes but failed to land the finisher.
Eala suffered her earliest exit in two months, falling in the Round of 32 of the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open with a 6-4, 4-6, 2-6 loss to world No. 10 Anisimova on Monday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
Backed once again by a vocal Filipino crowd at Stadium Court, the 21-year-old Filipina could not sustain a strong start and faded down the stretch in a marathon that lasted two hours and 28 minutes.
“It was a really, really tough match so credit to Eala. She was playing some great tennis so I’m really happy with this win,” said Anisimova.
“I’m really proud of this performance for being able to find a way and kind of push myself there in the middle of the match. And yeah, I’m really happy with the way I was able to find my tennis and start fighting.”
The defeat denied Eala what would have been a milestone 10th career win over a Top-10 opponent.
Seeded No. 17 in Ohio and ranked No. 20 in the world, Eala dropped to 9-5 overall against Top-10 players. Five of those wins had come in succession heading into the match, with seven of her nine Top-10 victories coming this season alone in what has already been a career year.
It was her earliest exit since the Round of 32 in Bad Homburg, Germany last June. Apart from a first-round loss at Wimbledon in May, Eala had posted deeper runs since, fueling a strong stretch on grass and on the North American hardcourts until running into Anisimova.
Anisimova, the No. 9 seed, showed composure when it mattered most. Eala entered the match carrying a string of firsts for Philippine tennis, including becoming the first Filipino, man or woman, to be seeded this high in a WTA 1000 event and to achieve the highest world ranking in the country’s history.
With her streak against the sport’s elite and her run of deep finishes on the line, Eala’s grit finally faltered for the first time since Wimbledon, just ahead of her much-anticipated campaign at the US Open in New York, set for Aug. 30 to Sept. 13.
For the US Open, Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime, spouses Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils, and two-time defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori have been given wild cards into the mixed doubles tournament.