ALEXANDRA Eala and Swiss partner Rebeka Masarova fell in a closely fought match, 4-6, 4-6, to the veteran and second-seeded pair of Ellen Perez and Storm Hunter in the first round of the Birmingham WTA 125 tournament in England.
The loss put them out of contention after their 71-minute encounter.
Eala and Masarova picked up a share of $1,106 for their effort, to go with one WTA point.
The 20-year-old Eala now gets ready to meet world No. 152 Linda Fruhvirtova of the Czech Republic in the singles.
Eala is a third-seeded entry in the tournament and has a World Tennis Association ranking of no. 73 this week.
On the other hand, Masarova is set to meet Daria Snigur.
The tournament serves as part of Eala’s preparations for the Wimbledon Open later this month.
She is fine-tuning her game to adjust playing at a grass surface.
Eala will be in the main draw of the women’s singles for the first time.