MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala fell at the hands of familiar tormentor Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium, absorbing a 1-6, 6-3, 3-6 defeat in the semifinals of the W80 Poitiers in France.
Eala, 17, held her own at first but ran out of gas in the clincher to bow out in one hour and 47 minutes for a spoiled shot at the finale of a $80,000 tourney.
Eala, the WTA No. 248, last week was also dealt a 6-4, 6-0 beating by the WTA No. 105 Bonaventure in the second round of the W60 Hamburg in Germany.
Bonaventure advanced to the title match versus Croatia’s Petra Marcinko, Eala’s previous doubles partner.