MANILA, Philippines — World No. 45 Alex Eala found herself on the losing end in the battle of Pinay lefties, yielding to No. 25 Leylah Fernandez at the WTA 500 Stuttgart Open first round, 1-6, 4-6, in Germany Wednesday in Manila.
A homegrown Filipino talent, Eala struggled to solve the Fernandez puzzle as the 5-time WTA champ representing Canada dominated especially in the first set.
Eala performed much better in the second frame where she even broke Fernandez's serve in the eighth game and took one more game to pull within one, 4-5.
A Canadian-Ecuadorian of Filipino descent, Fernandez recovered just in time to put Eala away.
Down 0-30 in the 10th game, Fernandez scored four straight points capped with an ace and a point off a return error by Eala to finish the match in one hour and 28 minutes.
