Alex Eala falls short in Suzhou quarters after three-set duel with Viktorija Golubic

Alex Eala’s grit was on full display in Suzhou, but it wasn’t enough to push her past Swiss veteran Viktorija Golubic in the quarterfinals of the WTA 125 tournament on Friday. 

The 20-year-old Filipina bowed out after a two-hour, 21-minute battle, dropping a 6-2, 2-6, 6(0)-7 decision that capped her third straight three-setter of the week.

Eala looked sharp from the outset, dictating tempo to seize the opening set, 6-2. But Golubic, once ranked inside the world’s top 35, steadied herself and flipped the momentum in the second set with her own 6-2 answer. 

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Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala ends her Suzhou Open campaign in the quarterfinal round, falling to Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic in a hard-fought match.#AlexEala #WTA #SuzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/VqrQYzQWTP

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The decider turned into a test of nerve: Eala broke ahead 6-5 and was two points away from victory before Golubic forced the tiebreak. From there, the 32-year-old Swiss slammed the door with a ruthless 7-0 sweep.

The loss ended Eala’s bid for a semifinal meeting with world No. 44 Tatjana Maria of Germany and marked her second straight exit in her Asian swing, following last week’s semifinal run in Jingshan.

Still, the journey to the last eight in Suzhou offered more proof of her steady climb. Eala began the tournament with an opening three-set win over Polish Katarzyna Kawa in the Round of 32 before outlasting Belgium’s Greet Minnen in another dramatic three-setter in the Round of 16. 

Each performance showed flashes of maturity in high-pressure moments, a quality that continues to define her young career.

For Eala, who has already collected two WTA titles at just 20 years old, the loss was a reminder of the razor-thin margins at this level of competition.

 While she walked away empty-handed, her back-to-back deep runs in Asia underscored her resilience and hinted at bigger breakthroughs on the horizon.

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