IT took Alex Eala exactly one year and three days to avenge what she once called one of the toughest losses of her career, and she did it on tennis' grandest stage all while making more history for the Philippines.
The Filipina world No. 30 rallied from a set down to defeat Australia's Maya Joint, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0, on Thursday and become the first Filipino to reach the third round of the Wimbledon Championships on Thursday night, Manila time.
Eala found herself chasing early after dropping the opening set, but quickly flipped the script come the second.
The Filipina broke early to build a 3-1 cushion and never let Joint get closer than two games to force a decider.
Riding that momentum, Eala came out blazing in the third, racing to a commanding 4-0 lead to officially close it out in nearly two hours of play.
Eala exacts revenge
The victory also leveled their head-to-head record to 1-1 after Joint edged Eala in last year's WTA 250 Eastbourne final, 6-4, 1-6, 7(12)-6(10), an eye-popping Set 3 score in a match Eala had described as one of the most difficult defeats she experienced..
Eala, the tournament's 29th seed, snapped Joint's momentum after the Aussie opened her campaign with a stunning first-round upset of returning legend Serena Williams.
Awaiting Eala in the third round is defending champion Iga Swiatek, against whom she holds a 1-1 head-to-head record.
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