ALEXANDRA Eala saw her Cincinnati Open campaign came to an end in the third round after bowing to American Amanda Anisimova, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) in Ohio.
The No. 17-seeded Eala made a strong start and took the opening set, but the ninth-seeded Anisimova gradually turned the match around before completing the comeback in three sets.
The Filipina converted three of seven break-point chances, while Anisimova took advantage of five of her 17 opportunities. The American also held the edge in total points won, 110-99, and games won, 16-12.
Anisimova proved more effective on serve, winning 64 percent of points on both her first and second serves. Eala won 58 percent of her first-serve points and 54 percent on her second serve.
Eala committed seven double faults and did not record an ace, while Anisimova hit three aces and also had seven double faults.
Despite the defeat, Eala leaves Cincinnati with another strong showing in a WTA 1000 event.
She entered the tournament coming off her maiden WTA Tour singles title at the Mubadala DC Open and a round of 16 appearance at the National Bank Open in Toronto.
The Cincinnati campaign also saw Eala advance to a career-best No. 18 in the WTA live rankings before her loss to Anisimova.
The 21-year-old Filipina will now turn her attention to the US Open, where she will look to build on her breakthrough season and continue her push toward the WTA Top 10. (Adrian Co)
