Filipina tennis star Alex Eala lost in the final qualifiers for the French Open to Argentina's Julia Riera.
Birthday girl Alex Eala misses the chance to become the first Filipina to compete in the main draw of the French Open women's singles, after falling to Argentina's Julia Riera in the final qualifying round, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 4-6.
The 19-year-old Filipina, ranked 160th in the world, actually had a strong start with a 6-4 set win against second seed Riera.
But the world number 93 player fought back in the second set, which went to a tiebreak, 7-3, in favor of the Argentinian.
She completed her revenge in the third frame with a 6-4 beating of Eala.
The Filipina was doing well in the qualifiers, downing China's Ma Yexin in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.
She then beat 30th seed Taylah Preston of Australia, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, before falling to Riera.
There would only be 16 competitors--winners of the 16 qualifiers--out of 128 athletes who would secure a place in the main draw. However, there could still be lucky losers chosen to enter.