ALEX Eala again failed to crack the code against good friend Iva Jovic, suffering a 2-6, 1-6 defeat in their round-of-16 match at the WTA500 Queen’s Club HSBC Championships in London on Wednesday night, Manila time.
The Filipina world No. 33 struggled to find her rhythm against the American despite entering the match with strong momentum, falling against the same player who ended her French Open bid in the first round last month.
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Before defeating China’s Shuai Zhang in her opener at Queen’s Club, Eala captured her second WTA125 title at the Lexus Birmingham Classic and had won her first six matches in the short grass.
Jovic, however, remained a tough nut to crack for Eala, firing several aces and consistently dictating the pace.
The American world no. 19 seized control early in the opening set, racing to a 2-0 lead before Eala briefly responded to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Jovic, however, quickly regained momentum and dominated the rest of the frame, winning four of the next five games to take the opening set.
Eala opened the second set with a hold for a 1-0 edge, but Jovic answered immediately with back-to-back aces to level at 1-1 before completely taking over.
The loss capped off Eala’s second tournament on grass this season. She is set to head to Berlin for the WTA500 Vanda Pharmaceuticals Tennis Open qualifiers.
The prestigious tournament features top names such as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 2 Elena Rybakina, and newly crowned French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, among others.
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