If Saturday’s Iva Jovic-Alex Eala match is a sign of things to come, tennis has a bright future. But it will be only Jovic playing over the next few days.
The 18-year-old American ended the Alex Eala show at the US Open with a 7-5, 3-7, 7-5 win over the 21-year-old Filipino star in the third round on Saturday. Her reward will be No. 4 seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round.
The match was between a pair of good friends, but turned into one of the most intense battles of the entire tournament. Both players are great ball-strikes. Neither have serves you would describe as elite or even above-average in a Grand Slam draw. Both chose to stay at the baseline and play the angles.
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Jovic’s forehand in particular stood out, especially when directed to the same side toward the left-handed Eala’s own forehand.
It was winners and break points galore, with the split of points win almost even between servers and returners. The match lasted more than three hours in total, giving the largely pro-Eala crowd what it wanted… and leaving men’s No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev to begin his own match uncomfortably close to midnight.
This article will be updated with more information.
