ALEX Eala started like a house on fire before suddenly going ice-cold, enduring a tough loss that booted her out of the Lexus Ilkley Open in Great Britain on Friday night (Philippine time), June 13.

Eala bowed to reigning Canadian champion Rebecca Marino in their quarterfinal match, 6-1, 0-6, 6-7 (7), as her struggles continued following a sterling run in the Miami Open last March.

The 20-year-old Eala was the top seed in the tournament but with the quarterfinal exit, her rocky campaign has been stretched as she failed to make a deep run in her last four tournaments since her magical performance in Miami.

The 34-year-old Marino, on the other hand, inched closer to retaining her crown after arranging a semifinal date with Swiss Celine Naef.

Naef moved to the semis after prevailing over British Amarni Banks in their own quarterfinal duel, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Eala’s unproductive run in the tournament saw her chalk up a 7-6 (4), 6-3 triumph over Fil-Australian Lizzette Cabrera in the opening round. The double Asian Games bronze medalist sustained the momentum by tallying a 6-1, 6-2 win over Swiss qualifier Valentina Ryser in the second round.

The campaign ended when Eala ran into the veteran Marino, who blanked the Filipina tennis ace in the second set before displaying steely nerves in the hard-fought third set.

Eala’s next campaign will be in the Wimbledon Open on June 30 to July 13 where she is set to debut in the main draw debut of the world’s most prestigious and oldest Grand Slam tournament.(CCM)

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• #Lexus Ilkey Open
• #Great Britain
• #Rebecca Marino
• #Miami Open
• #Wimbledon Open