Alex Eala and her partner Iva Jovic bowed out of the ASB Classic doubles semifinals after losing to Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan, who advanced to the finals with a 7–5, 6–3 victory Friday.
Eala and Jovic showed strong early intent in the opening set, surging to a 4–2 lead before extending their advantage to 5–4. Xu and Yang, however, responded by winning the final three games of the set to steal it, 7–5.
The Filipina-American pairing regrouped in the second set, once again taking the early initiative with a 2–1 lead and later pulling ahead 3–1.
But momentum shifted as Xu and Yang found their rhythm, leveling the score at 3–all before taking control of the closing stages.
Xu and Yang closed out the match with a composed 6–3 second-set win, ending Eala and Jovic’s promising doubles run in Auckland after their first-round win against Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina.
Eala will now turn her attention back to the singles competition against World No. 57 Wang Xinyu as she continues her strong showing at the ASB Classic.