Courtesy: WTA
Dismay hovered over Alex Eala as she exited her highly-awaited Singapore Open main draw debut as the no. 3 seed after suffering a devastating loss at the hands of unheralded Tatiana Prozorova.
The world no.180 Russian player rallied from one set down to complete the shocking upset and eliminate the world no.18 Filipino tennis star, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, on Thursday night at the OCBCArena, where Eala’s followers were also left in shock.
The 21-year-old overcame a 1-3 deficit in the opening frame before battling through eight deuces to convert her seventh set point with a sliding serve out wide.
Eala displayed her A-game on return in the second stanza, breaking her opponent twice to build a commanding 4-2 advantage.
Prozorova, however, came back roaring and won five of the next six games with her offensive brilliance.
Eala stayed alive despite squandering her lead by saving the first set point with a forehand, but Prozorova responded with a pair of perfectly executed forehand winners to force a decider.
Although Eala erased a 0-2 deficit to lead 3-2 with a break, the win slipped through her fingers after three double faults plagued her early in the third frame.
The 22-year-old Prozorova then swept the remaining four games after staving off four break points, coming through six deuces, and hitting her fourth ace of the match to cement her first Top 20 career win with a seamless forehand crosscourt.
She will face Wang Xinyu in the quarterfinals.
“Honestly, I don’t have any words right now to describe my emotions, my feelings,” Prozorova said in her on-court interview after the match that lasted for three hours and nine minutes.
“I just believed in myself ’til the end. I knew that she will fight. I also will be fighting ’til the end. That’s what I just did, and it worked,” she added.
Eala’s defeat was her first to a player ranked outside the Top 100 since her semifinal meltdown against then No. 146 Lulu Sun at the 2025 Jingshan Tennis Open.
Eala is now Japan-bound for her second appearance at the Asian Games, where she is expected to win a gold medal.
The women’s singles tournament will start on Sunday, September 27 at the Nagoya City Higashiyama Park Tennis Center.
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