In a clash of two rising stars and good friends on the tour, Alex Eala just had no answer for Iva Jovic.
The Philippines' rising tennis star Eala was once again on the losing end in her second go-around in the French Open with a 4-6, 2-6 first round defeat against 17th seed Jovic on Tuesday evening (Philippine time).
The match started competitive with Eala having two break opportunities on Jovic at the very first game of the contest, immediately putting pressure on the American with her aggressive returns and ability to extend rallies on clay.
However, Jovic escaped the early danger and held serve, which eventually became an important tone-setter to rack up a 5-1 lead, powered by two breaks in the fourth and sixth game.
Yet, the Filipina fought back with a last ditch effort in the opener with two late breaks of her own to go on a three-game run to cut the deficit to 5-4. But Jovic still managed to halt Eala's momentum for her third break of the opening set to win, 6-4.
It was through the second serve points where Jovic had the advantage at 14-6, despite Eala having the better first serve percentage at 67% compared to her 50%.
The second set would start tighter at 2-2 apiece after four games, with Jovic and Eala trading breaks early.
Unfortunately, it was the dominance of the 18-year old Jovic that became the difference with four straight games won to close out the match.
The solid return of the 2026 Australian Open quarterfinalist was a huge reason that overwhelmed Eala with a 21-10 first return points lead.
This officially wraps up the clay court season of Eala, as she is now ranked 37th going to the grass swing.
