END OF THE ROAD: Eala, Martins sent packing in doubles event

Alex Eala just couldn’t seem to get a break in the Australian Open.

A day after her early exit in the main draw of the women’s singles, Eala suffered yet another early exit after she and Ingrid Martins of Brazil absorbed a 6-7, 6-2, 3-6 loss to world No. 50 Magda Linette of Poland and Shuko Aoyama of Japan in the opening round of the doubles event at Court 14 of Melbourne Park last Tuesday.

Eala, 20, and Martins fought valiantly for two hours and 38 minutes but it wasn’t enough as they melted under pressure in the third set that sent them packing in this season-opening Grand Slam event.

The setback was truly painful for the Filipina.

After losing to world No. 99 Alycia Parks of the United States, 6-0, 3-6, 2-6, in the Round of 128 last Monday, Eala’s campaign in the first Grand Slam of the year finally came to a screeching halt.

Eala, a product of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, said she is still learning as she continues to join tougher competitions.

“It’s a process to take it all in. Some elements are overwhelming, but I’m still young, and I’m learning how to deal with the attention,” said Eala, who drew a massive Filipino crowd during her singles event battle with the Parks on Monday.

“I’m the only Filipina in the draw this year. I’m the only Filipina that’s ever been in the draw, I think. So, there are positives to take away.”

Eala and Martins, who had the potential to win the match early on, weren’t able to deliver in the end.

The first set saw the Eala-Martins tandem went on a 4-0 start but lost steam as Linette and Aoyama forced tiebreak.

The Polish-Japanese duo established a 5-2 lead and went on to win the first set.

In the second set, Eala and Martins started hot again with a 4-1 lead and went on to tie the match at 1-1.

Unfortunately, the third frame saw Linette and Aoyama establish a 4-0 lead and looked poised to crush the Filipino-Brazilian duo.

Eala and Martins were able to win the next three games but failed to complete a comeback.

With the Australian Open done, Eala will come home and compete in the upcoming Philippine Women’s Open at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center from 26 to 31 January.

Pro campaigners like world No. 42 Tatjana Maria of Germany and No. 46 Wang Xinyu of China, No. 59 Janice Tjen of Indonesia, No. 63 Solana Sierra of Argentina, No. 72 Donna Vekic of Croatia, No. 76 Kimberly Birrell of Australia, and No. 84 Camila Osorio of Colombia are expected to challenge Eala on home turf.