Eala, Swiss partner crash out in opening round of Birmingham Open

Alex Eala crashed out early on her first match in the grass-court season after she and Swiss partner Rebeka Masarova yielded in the opening round of the women’s doubles of the Lexus Birmingham Open in Great Britain on Monday, June 2.The unseeded pair succumbed to Australian second seeds Ellen Perez and Storm Hunter, 6-4, 6-4, in a match that lasted one hour and 11 minutes.Teaming up for the first time, Eala and Masarova failed to capitalize on a strong start where they led 2-1.The Filipina-Swiss tandem, however, showed signs of life in the second frame where they trimmed their 0-4 deficit by claiming the next three games for 3-4.The Australians, however, were quick to regroup and won the eighth game, but Eala and Masarova refused to give up the fight to clinch the next game for 4-5.It proved to be their last stand as Perez and Hunter dominated the 10th game en route to the match victory.Eala is still battling in the singles at press time against Czech Linda Fruhvirtova where the Filipina is seeded third in this Women’s Tennis Association (WTA125) tournament.