Arya News - The setback doesn’t dampen Eala’s stellar season, which saw her rise from the top 50 to 17th in the world. She is projected to climb to a new career-high of No. 15 after making the Hong Kong final.
MANILA – What could’ve been a second WTA title for Alex Eala turned into a breakthrough victory for American Claire Liu on Sunday night.
Eala came up short in putting the finishing touch on a historic season after falling to a feisty Liu, 3-6, 0-6, in the Hong Kong Open final.
Despite the heartbreak, an emotional Eala remained gracious in defeat.
“First and foremost, I want to congratulate Claire on an amazing tournament, a great week and a great match. Very, very well deserved,” said the second-seeded Eala.
“And of course, the fans. Thank you, thank you. Wrapping up this year, you guys do not know how much meaning you add on top of what I do and how much of a pleasure it is to go about my life, sharing these moments with you all so I’m forever grateful.”
It was a back-and-forth affair through six games in the opening set, tied at 3-3, before Liu pulled away behind a strong service game. The 26-year-old connected on 88 percent of her first serve.
The 102nd-ranked Liu, who did not drop a set in the tournament, went on to take the next nine games to capture her maiden tour title.
Eala had to overcome a string of tough matches, including a marathon semifinal against former World No. 3 Maria Sakkari in the semifinals, on her way to a third tour final appearance.
The grueling battles seemed to have taken a toll on the 21-year-old Eala, who called for a medical timeout trailing 3-4 in the second set and had her right thigh strapped up. She was also seen grimacing from time to time but still played through the pain.
Eala had multiple opportunities to gain the headstart in the second set with seven chances to hold. She saved four break points, but Liu finally came through after Eala netted a backhand, ending a 26-minute-long opening game in the second set.
The setback still doesn’t dampen Eala’s stellar season that saw her rise from top 50 to 17th in the world. She is projected to even climb to a new career-high of No. 15 after making the Hong Kong final.
This year also had Eala claiming her first tour title at the WTA 500 Washington Open last August, knocking off then-World No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the final.
“This season has just changed my life, it’s changed my life for the better. I’m really, incredibly proud of the work we’ve put in this year and we’re the only ones who truly know what it took to arrive at this point in our journey, so thank you so, so much,” said Eala, who’s one of the leaders in matches played in the WTA this season.
“This is only the beginning.”