Alex Eala, Iva Jovic fall short vs China’s Xu, Yang to end ASB Classic doubles run

Filipina ace Alexandra “Alex” Eala and American Iva Jovic bowed out of the ASB Classic doubles tournament after a 7-5, 6-3 semifinal loss to China’s Yifan Xu and Zhaoxuan Yang on Friday in Auckland, New Zealand.

Eala and Jovic took an early 5-4 lead in the opening set, but Xu and Yang rallied with three straight games to seize the set.

A similar pattern unfolded in the second set, with Eala and Jovic jumping to a 3-1 advantage before the Chinese duo reeled off the next five games to seal the victory.

The Eala-Jovic tandem reached the semifinals via a quarterfinal walkover and earlier stunned the pair of Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina in the first round.

Despite their doubles exit, Eala and Jovic remain in contention in the singles draw, joining Wang Xinyu and Svitolina in the semifinals. Eala will face Wang in her bracket.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News