Alex Eala’s run in the Workday Canberra International women’s singles came to a screeching halt after absorbing a 5-7, 2-6 loss to Sijia Wei of China in the semifinal at the Canberra Tennis Centre on Friday in Australia.

The Chinese entry, rated No. 134 in the world, needed one hour and 28 minutes to pull the plug on Eala’s bold bid.

This is Eala’s first competition of the year and she made it quite far after surviving the qualifiying rounds.

The 19-year-old Rafael Nadal Academy graduate first had to beat home bet Catherine Aulia, 6-1, 6-2, in the first qualifying round before taking down another Australian bet in Alana Subasic, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1, to make it to the main draw.

In the Round of 32, Eala defeated Sinja Kraus of Austria, 6-2, 6-4, and then swept Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-3, in the Round of 16.

Eala then defeated Aussie netter Taylah Preston 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, in the quarterfinal to set up a match against Wei.

Now, Eala will focus on the qualifying round of the Australian Open which starts on Monday.