MANILA, Philippines — Favored to win the gold medal, Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala bowed to Xiyu Wang of China in a grueling three-set match, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, in their women's tennis semifinal duel at the 20th Asian Games on a windy Thursday afternoon at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.
Eala, ranked 18th in the world and seeded No. 1 in the tournament, failed to sustain her rousing start and lost to world No. 85 Wang after a long three-hour battle.
Eala fully took control of the match against Wang after a 5-0 start in the opening set, orchestrating razor-sharp swings.
Wang did not back down from the fight and pulled three straight loves to challenge the No. 1-seeded netter of the tournament, 5-3.
Eala had enough with the back-and-forth against Wang and loaded up her swings to take the first set, 6-3.
In set three, Wang held a comfortable 5-2 lead, nearing to book her ticket in the finals.
Wang finished the match with a loaded hammer, 6-2.
Eala fell short in her bid to end the 64-year gold medal drought of the nation, as the last time the Philippines won a gold medal was at the 1962 Jakarta Games, when Johnny Jose defeated Michio Miyagi in the men’s singles final.
Wang will next face compatriot Shuai Zhang, ranked World No. 54, making it an all-Chinese women's final.
