Fresh off her strong performance at the Italian Open, Alex Aira was unable to carry that momentum into the 2026 Strasbourg Open, suffering a crushing defeat to Oleksandra Olnikova 6-3, 5-7, 3-6 in the round of 32 on Monday night (Philippine time).
The grueling match lasted nearly three hours and was yet another early ejection from the clay court for the 20-year-old Filipino player, who is less than a week away from returning to the French Open.
The first set was a close battle on the baseline from the start, with both players holding serve for the first six games, resulting in a 3-3 deadlock.
The pivotal moment came in the seventh game, when Olynikova pushed Eara to the limit and even created a break point opportunity, but the Filipino showed the composure to hold serve and escape in a long, hard-fought game.
That rough hold proved to be the spark Ila needed.
The 20-year-old immediately raised her level upon her return, securing her only set break in the eighth game before stringing together three games in a row to take the lead with cleaner shot-making and better control during overtime rallies.
But Olnikova quickly turned the tide in the second set with more aggressive returns and sharper court coverage.
In the Ukraine qualifying round, he took a commanding 4-0 lead, beating Eara twice along the way, and consistently put pressure on the Filipino’s service games.
But Ira bounced back and responded.
She won two breaks in three consecutive games to close the gap to 3-4 and claw her way back into the set. The momentum continued to shift late in the set as Olnikova got a decisive counter-break, but Ila responded immediately with a third frame break, holding serve and leveling the score at 5-5.
Still, Olynikova’s relentless return ultimately made the difference.
The world No. 66 maintained his composure in the 11th game before taking advantage of another shaky service game from Ila to break and take the second set.
The decisive frame followed a similar pattern of fluctuating momentum and constant pressure on the serve. Ila was the first to get a break in the first game, but Olnikova quickly responded with a break of her own to keep the set level.
Midway through the third set, the Filipino seemed to be starting to regain control after another timely break gave her a 3-2 advantage. But that would be the last match Ila would win.
From there, Olnikova completely took over the match with confident baseline hitting and a great return game, swinging the final four games to earn a come-from-behind victory.
One notable statistic highlighted the Ukrainian’s superiority in returns. Olnikova created an astonishing 23 break point opportunities throughout the match, constantly putting pressure on Eara’s serve and controlling many of the exchanges from the baseline in extra time.
