Filipina tennis star Alex Eala’s doubles campaign at the National Bank Open came to an early end after she and American tennis icon Venus Williams suffered a straight-set defeat to Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova and Japan’s Miyu Kato on Friday in Toronto, Canada.
Samsonova and Kato completed the victory, 6-4, 6-5, to knock out the Filipino-American tandem and advance to the next round of the WTA 1000 tournament.
The Russian-Japanese pair seized control from the opening games, racing to a 2-0 lead before stretching the advantage to 4-2 in the first set.
Eala and Williams managed to stay within striking distance and attempted to turn the set around, but Samsonova and Kato maintained their composure to close it out, 6-4.
The second set followed a similar pattern as Samsonova and Kato quickly established a commanding 4-0 advantage, putting Eala and Williams under immediate pressure.
The Filipino-American duo responded with consecutive games to cut the deficit, but their opponents remained in control.
After moving within a game of victory, Samsonova and Kato fended off one final push from Eala and Williams before sealing the match in straight sets.
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The winning pair relied on timely service breaks in both sets while minimizing unforced errors, preventing Eala and Williams from gaining any sustained momentum throughout the contest.
It marked the second doubles tournament together for Eala and Williams after previously reaching the quarterfinals of the Bad Homburg Open in Germany during the grass-court season.
Their reunion in Toronto drew significant attention, with fans eager to watch the reigning Washington Open singles champion partner once again with one of the sport’s most decorated players.
Despite the doubles exit, Eala’s campaign in Toronto is far from over.
The 21-year-old remains in contention in the singles tournament after opening with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory over American Alycia Parks to reach the Round of 32.
Eala will return to the court on Saturday (Philippine time), where she is set to face another American, Caty McNally, for a place in the Round of 16.
Although the doubles stint ended earlier than hoped, Eala continued to enjoy overwhelming support in Toronto, with Filipino fans filling the stands during her opening in singles and doubles appearance at the prestigious WTA 1000 event.
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