Alex Eala's clay struggles continue after Round of 64 loss to Elise Mertens in Madrid Open

Alex Eala suffered another tough loss in her clay-court campaign, bowing to world No. 21 Elise Mertens of Belgium, 6-2, 6-1, in the Round of 64 of Madrid Open on Friday in Spain. 

This marked Eala's third straight early exit, following a Round of 16 loss at the Linz Open and a Round of 32 setback at the Stuttgart Open. 

Mertens, the 19th seeded player in the field, dominated early on by surging to a 5-2 lead over the Filipina bet in Set 1. She then took advantage of an error from Eala to seal the opening frame. 

Mertens, also currently the highest ranked doubles player in the world, uncorked Set 2 with a pivotal 4-0 lead before Eala fought back in the fifth game after a series of errors from the 30-year-old Mertens. 

Eala raced to a 30-0 lead in the sixth game, but the Philippine ace blew that early advantage as Mertens clawed her way back to clinch the match point at 5-1. 

Eala won the first point in the seventh game, but Mertens tied it up with a forehand drop before back-to-back attack errors from Eala allowed the Belgian to take a 40-15 lead en route to the win. 

Mertens will face Karolina Pliskova in the Round of 32. 

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News