It was a good first time for the two players as a duo.
On Tuesday night (Manila time), Filipina tennis star Alex Eala returned to the grass court of the Bad Homburg Open in Germany for her stint in the women’s doubles, where she paired up with American tennis icon Venus Williams for the first time ever.
Together, they took on the tandem of Australian netter Alexandra Osborne and American player Catherine Harrison.
Almost instantaneously, the Eala and Williams were able to deliver a strong start, taking on an early lead against Osborne and Harrison, which culminated in the Filipina and American tennis stars winning in the first set.
However, they met challenge from their opponents in the second set, who, at one point, even tied the game 4-4, but Alex and Venus were able to surpass that and close the match on top, 6-3 6-4, and earned their spot in the quarterfinals.
The day after, Wednesday afternoon (Manila time), both tennis stars got back to work and faced No. 2 seeds Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia and Olivia Nicholls of the United Kingdom.
In sharp contrast from the day prior, both Eala and Williams were unable to gain foothold in the match and were dominated by Mihalikoba and Nicholls, who did not only close the first set in the lead, but also the second to secure a win and spot in the semis—it was 3-6, 2-6 loss for Alex and Venus.
Thursday’s loss marks the end of the Filipina tennis star’s debut stint in Bad Homburg, as he had also exited the women’s singles after losing to Belgian player Elise Mertens in the first round of the competition.