If Saturday’s Iva Jovic-Alex Eala match is a sign of things to come, tennis has a bright future. But Iovic only plays for the next few days.
American 18-year-old Alex Eala finished the 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. His reward will be No. 4 seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round.
The match was between good friends, but it turned into one of the fiercest battles of the entire tournament. Both players were loaded with large arrows. Nor does it serve you to be elite or above average in the Grand Slam. Both wanted to stay on the baseline and play the corners.
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Tennis is more than just winners and unforced errors, but that system shows how rigid the contact was, with Jovic posting 44 winners to 27 unforced errors, to 34 and 33 for Eala.
Jovic’s right hand especially stood out, especially when he used Aela’s own left hand directed in the same direction. The shot was the prize in the first stage, and for much of the rest of the contest.
The match was broken by a galore of points (Jovic 9 of 17, Eala 8 of 20), with the split of points almost even between servants and returners. The whole thing lasted more than three hours, giving the largely pro-Eala crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium the viewing it wanted … and leaving the men’s No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev to start his season with the clock approaching 11 pm local time.
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He drew on the participants of both, and did not think of Jovicus;
“It felt like a marathon and I felt like I lost my health five times to win that match, but it’s really worthy of this feeling. I’m not usually one who shows a lot of emotions, but this one meant a lot to me.”
The same probably cannot be said for Eala, who was gracious in congratulating Jovic, and acknowledged the crowd, then left soberly through the tunnel. It was an incredible season for the young player, who carries the hope of the native Philippines into each match, but he ran into his opponent only to be able to match his best on Saturday.
The match looked winnable for Eala with a 4-2 lead in the third set. Breaks and holds had no significance in this game, but all that was missing was two games at a time when the moment was decided in that part.
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Speaking again later on ESPN, Iovic spoke about the physical toll it took on him;
“Arthur Ashe was playing, in front of that atmosphere, I felt like I was shaking throughout the whole match. I lost my earrings in the middle. I brought them back. There was a time when I literally splashed on the floor … it cut me to the knees. I had to give absolutely everything to get through it.”
The win continues Iovic’s breakout season, which began with a quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open, which was only ended by top seed Aryna Sabalenka. She reached the third round at Roland-Garros, only to run into Naomi Osaka. Her fourth-round opponent at Wimbledon: Jessica Pegula.
Gauff challenges the figures to be similar, but Iovic has given plenty of reason to expect that upset with Saturday’s form. According to ESPN, she is the youngest American woman to reach three Grand Slam fourth rounds in one year since Venus Williams in 1998.