Alex Eala, Venus Williams end run as doubles duo in Bad Homburg Open

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala’s partnership with tennis legend Venus Williams proved short-lived.

Less than a day since they won their first match as a doubles tandem, Eala and Williams ended their campaign in the Bad Homburg Open in Germany following a 6-3, 6-2 loss to British Olivia Nicholls and Slovak Tereza Mihalikova in the quarterfinals on Thursday, June 25.

Chemistry and familiarity made the difference as Nicholls and Mihalikova, who have teamed up for nine consecutive tournaments and won the doubles crown in the Queen’s Club Championships earlier this June, dominated the Filipina and American pair.

Eala and Williams grabbed a 3-2 lead to open the match but Nicholls and Mihalikova won four straight games to clinch the opening set.

The British and Slovak duo then raced to a 5-1 advantage in the second set on the way to the victory that took 1 hour and 20 minutes to finish.

With the loss, Eala and Williams exit the WTA 500 event as they both lost in the first round of singles play.

Eala bowed to Belgium’s Elise Mertens, while Williams fell prey to Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu.

The two turn their focus on the Wimbledon Championships — the third Grand Slam of the year — where Eala and Williams look to make waves in singles and doubles action, respectively.

Eala, 21, will be seeded in a major for the first time in her career as she gets a first-round bye in Wimbledon as the 29th seed.

Forty-six-year-old Williams, meanwhile, links up with younger sister Serena, who came out of a years-long retirement, with hopes of adding another one to the six doubles titles they won in Wimbledon. – Rappler.com