Alex Eala came out empty-handed on her 19th birthday.
Eala missed a chance to make history when she lost to Julia Riera of Argentina, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, in the last round of the French Open qualifiers on Thursday at the Roland Garros Stadium in Paris.
With her victory, Riera became one of the 16 qualifiers, who advanced to the main draw, which will see 19 out of the top 20 players in the world competing for honors at the famed red clay courts of Roland Garros,
Eala struggled to hold on to her serve in the ninth game of the last set, allowing Riera to take the next two games and win the match.
In the second set, Riera leaped to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak, giving her enough leeway to win the set, 7-6 (3), and extend the match to a decider.
Overall, the world No. 160 Eala had better first serve percentage (75% vs 59%).
Eala also committed just two double faults, which happened in the third set.
So far, Eala has earned a total of $82,873 during the course of professional career this year.
Before France, Eala was in Zagreb, reaching the round of 32 of a $60,000 W75 tournament.
