Making her much-anticipated Arthur Ashe debut, it was a topic of much debate whether Alexandra Eala could play at her best under pressure. While the answer to that question was an emphatic yes, the Filipino player’s US Open campaign came to an end after a three-hour battle against home favorite Iva Jovic, with veteran commentator Patrick McEnroe calling the clash the best at Flushing Meadows this year.
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Despite McEnroe’s verdict of the match on the ESPN commentary, Eala could not stop from breaking into tears as she left the court via the player tunnel. For the Eala fans, even if the result was not what they wanted, they had no reason to complain about the World No.18’s efforts on court. In a match where there were seventeen service breaks between the two players, the momentum swung to and fro across the three sets.
The initial burst came from Jovic, who broke Eala twice to take a 4-1 lead in the first set. However, the Filipino player rallied, breaking Jovic’s serve twice to make it 4-4, and another set of breaks made it 5-5. However, the American got the final break of the set and then held on for a 7-5 win.
The second set remained on serve for the first three games, with Eala having a 2-1 lead. However, what followed was a masterclass in returning from both players, with five consecutive service breaks. Eala had the advantage at 5-3 and broke the streak of breaks by holding on in the ninth game to win the set at 6-3.
The Filipino player was in full flow in the third set, getting an early break to go 2-0 up. However, Jovic responded by tying it at 2-2, only for Eala to get another break to go 4-2 up. The World No. 18 was playing fearless tennis, going for her shots, often hitting her groundstrokes right on the edge of the baseline. The match looked at a pivotal moment for Eala when she had break points to go 5-2 up, but for once, she could not get a break.
That proved to be the turning point, as Jovic got back on serve at 5-4, and even had a match point on Eala’s serve, which she missed with a backhand. However, Eala’s resistance came to an end in the twelfth game, with Jovic getting the final break of the match and closing out the win.
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