Alex Eala, Mexican partner fall in French Open doubles 2nd round

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Filipina tennis standout Alex Eala wraps up her historic French Open campaign

MANILA, Philippines – With their color-coordinated outfits from head to foot, Olga Danilovic of Serbia and Anastasia Potapova of Russia came in with the intent to intimidate and dominate. 

They complemented their looks with substance, comprehensively outclassing Alex Eala and Renata Zarazua of Mexico, 6-1, 6-3, in the women’s doubles second round of the French Open at Court 6 of the Roland Garros Stadium on Friday, May 30.

The exit wrapped up Eala’s historic run in the French Open, where she became the first Filipino tennis player in the Open era, male or female, to play in the singles main draw of a Grand Slam.

She’s also  the first Filipina to play in the women’s doubles of a Grand Slam.

Although Eala and Zarazua’s tandem looked promising in the  first round, their Serbian and Russian foes had teamed up thrice before, including in the Australian Open last January. 

So right in the first frame, their advantage in chemistry was evident against Eala and Zarazua. 

Danilovic and Potapova had a strong start, breaking serve in the very first game and opening a 2-0 lead in the first set. 

Eala and Zarazua got on the scoreboard at 2-1 and had a golden opportunity to tie the count in the fourth game when they held break point. 

Unfortunately, they were unable to convert, thus allowing Danilovic and Potapova to hold serve and sweep the remaining games to snag the first set.

The Filipina and Mexican duo tried to put up more resistance in the second set as they kept in step until the second game after holding serve. But their Serbian and Russian foes simply had too much firepower and jumped to a 5-2 advantage. 

Eala and Zarazua staged their final stand in the eighth to claim their last game of the set, but Danilovic and Potapova eventually closed out in the ninth to finish the match in just an hour and six minutes.

Danilovic and Potapova play mostly singles in the WTA Tour, with Danilovic, 34th in the world, losing earlier on Friday to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in the third round. The world No. 37 Potapova exited on Wednesday in the second round.

Despite partnering for the first time, Eala and Zarazua looked impressive in the opening round last Tuesday when they blasted Emily Appleton of Great Britain and Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers of Spain in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. 

Danilovic and Potapova of Russia were just as impressive in the first round, coming from behind to pull the rug from under the seventh-seeded duo of Filipino-American Desirae Krawczyk and Caroline Dolcehide of the United States, 1-6, 6-4, 7-5. – Ariel Ian Clarito/Rappler.com