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| A surprised Alex Eala looks on as Katie Boulter walks off the court |
Alex Eala notched her first win this evening in the Hong Kong Tennis Open after Katie Boulter of the UK quit their game in the second set at the Victoria Park Tennis Stadium in Causeway Bay, complaining of pain on her already-bandaged left thigh.
Eala was leading throughout, having won the first set at 6-4 and was up 2-1 in the second.
“I wish it did not end this way,” she said in a
ringside interview after the game. “I wish she would recover soon and rejoin the tour.”
In a press conference minutes later, she said she was
surprised by the sudden end. “It came as a shock. I wasn’t expecting her to
pull out,” she added.
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She also downplayed the right bandage on her right thigh
during the game, which she did not have the day before when she played a
doubles match, as a preventive measure.
With the win, Eala, who was unseeded in this tournament,
advanced to the round of 16 where she will face third-seeded Victoria Mboko of
Canada on Thursday.
The other scheduled games will continue tomorrow, Wednesday, despite it being Chung Yeung Festival, a
holiday in Hong Kong to honor elders.
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The match opened with Eala serving and winning the first
point in two minutes. In her turn to serve, Boulter took four minutes to win
her first point.
Eala widened the lead to 3-1 as the two dueled with powerful
serves and ground strokes until Boulter scored an ace, 3-2.
But Eala broke Boulter’s serve, 4-2. Although Boulter grabbed
her own breakpoint, 4-3, and crept back to 4-4, Eala got back with an ace and her
own breakpoint to close the set at 6-4.
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| Eala is mobbed by fans as she emerges from the center court |
Boulter opened the second set with a breakpoint to take the
first set.
But Eala got back with her own breakpoint after battling
through four deuces, 1-1, and scored an easy point to lead at 2-1, as Boulter failed
to return the ball several times.
During the break, Boulter told the umpire she would retire from the match.
