MANILA, Philippines — Suffering early exits to start her clay season, Alexandra "Alex" Eala looks to turn things around at the WTA 1000 Madrid Open in Spain.
The Filipino tennis ace looks to go deep in her third stop for the clay season slated from April 21 to May 3.
Eala exited Madrid in the round of 64 last year, falling to then world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in their rematch, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6.
World No. 45 Eala just bowed out of the 500 Stuttgart Open in Germany, yielding to No. 25 Leylah Fernandez in the first round, 1-6, 4-6, Wednesday midnight in Manila.
It was her second straight early exit after the Linz Open where she bowed to world No. 22 Ostapenko in the second round, 4-6, 5-7, last week on April 8.
The aforementioned 500-tier tournaments were Eala's first after the 1000 Miami Open, where she lost 270 ranking points after failing to match her 390-point semis finish last year.
Eala dropped from a career-best No. 29 to 45 with her round of 16 exit.
Unable to regain those points in her first two stops in the clay season, Eala seeks to do it in this 1000-tier Madrid.