Alex Ira’s highly anticipated Grand Slam debut was ruined by Emilia Alango, who lasted the Philippines longer than 6-0, 2-6, 6-3 in a fierce battle opening round encounter at the French Open.
The match served as a rematch for last year’s Miami Open qualifying round, with Alango also winning.
Despite the steady rise in the world’s 69th rankings now, the Colombian, ranked 88th, has once again proved a challenging obstacle.
Arango fired on the opening set, steaming EALA and low rolling without dropping the game. The Colombian served three times, holding herself easily, putting unrelenting pressure through deep returns and a steady baseline game.
Eala struggled to find the rhythm and tallied 17 forced errors against only four of Arango.
The tide shifted in the second set.
Eala stabilized her ground strokes, improved her initial service percentage, and allowed her to go to the toes with Arango at the extended meeting.
The 20-year-old Filipino moved ahead 3-2 before the rain delay temporarily stopped playing. When action resumed, Ela got on momentum and won three straight games, including two key breaks, winning a set of 6-2, forcing the decider.
However, Alango quickly reasserted control in the final set, defeating Ira’s serve in the opening game.
Both players served throughout the next six games, but Eala was unable to invade upon return. To stay in the match 5-3 down, Ira shook under pressure and allowed Alango to seal the victory by getting a decisive break.
The loss denied a potentially high-profile second-round matchup for China’s eighth seed Zheng Qinwen.
For EALA, the promising debut ends with disappointment, but the experience offers valuable lessons as they continue their push to break through on the WTA tour.
Now that she has already become the first player from the Philippines, which reached a major Grand Slam draw during the open era.
