Courtesy: WTA
Alex Eala still couldn’t solve the puzzle of her close friend, Iva Jovic.
Though Eala fought gallantly, Jovic proved too much to handle for the third time.
The three-hour and three-minute marathon at Arthur Ashe Stadium ended in a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 victory for the American, knocking the Filipina out of the US Open on Sunday (Manila time).
Eala’s third-round exit, though, stood as her best performance at the Grand Slam major, improving on her second-round showing last year.
The 17th seed of the tournament came back to life in the second set, utilizing her signature quick returns to secure a 3-1 lead as Jovic initially struggled with her service.
Jovic’s double fault in the eighth game gave Eala a 5-3 lead, opening the door for her to force a decider.
But Eala squandered a 2-0 advantage in the third set as the 14th-seeded Jovic, who battled through a leg discomfort, crawled up from two sets down and moved a frame away from winning, 5-4.
Eala stayed in the thick of the fight, saving a match point in the 10th game of the deciding set after Jovic hit the ball wide three times.
Jovic smoothly held her serve in the next game, scoring two aces to regain the lead, 6-5.
She later sealed the victory and marched on to her first career Round of 16 at the US Open following Eala’s net fault.
Eala temporarily stalled Jovic’s march toward the opening set, fighting back in the 10th game to level the score at 5-5.
The momentum quickly shifted, though, as Eala blew a 30-0 lead in the next game. Jovic rattled off four straight points to break back, before confidently serving out the 12th game to take the opening set.
With Eala concluding her 2026 Grand Slam campaign, she is now shifting focus to the Singapore Tennis Open, a WTA 500 event running from September 21 to 27 at the OCBC Arena.
This will be followed by her second appearance at the Asian Games, where she will aim to turn her bronze in 2023 into a gold this time.
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