Filipina tennis ace and Globe ambassador Alex Eala saw her run in the J1 Roehampton come to an end as she suffered a 4-6, 1-6 loss to Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals on Saturday morning (Philippine time) in London.

In what was a battle between two tennis phenoms, it was Fruhvirtova—who is ranked no. 14 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) juniors rankings—that ultimately got the win to move on to the semifinals. She also gained payback for the 6-3, 6-3 loss that Eala handed to her two years ago in the JA Cape Town in South Africa.

Despite the loss, the experience that Eala, who is the no. 3 ranked juniors player in the world, got from playing on grass is expected to pay dividends when she makes her debut in the Wimbledon juniors competition on July 5.

The day actually started on a high note for the Filipina as she took down 18-year old Mara Guth of Germany in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, in the third round. The victory reaffirmed Eala’s master of the German netter, who she has beaten three times in the last three years. She also has wins over Guth in the JA Osaka in 2019 and at the Roland Garros Juniors Championships in 2020.