Alexandra Eala recently registered her second consecutive loss to Iva Jovic as she fell short against the American at the Queen’s Club Championships. Reacting to the match, fans blamed the duo’s friendship for the Filipino phenom’s defeat.
Eala and Jovic’s maiden meeting took place earlier this year at the French Open. The two WTA stars, who have long since maintained a close friendship away from the tennis courts, clashed in the first round of Roland Garros, with the latter winning the battle in straight sets. More recently, they faced off against each other at the Queen’s Club Championships, where Jovic outdid Eala 6-2, 6-2.
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Reacting to the match, fans blamed Alexandra Eala’s close friendship with Iva Jovic for the loss, with one X user writing,
“Maybe Eala needs to set boundaries with bff Jovic lol. She doesn’t play like this against Andreeva and Mboko.”
Sharing a similar opinion, another fan wrote,
“Three more Eala’s loses to Jovic and I think the bestfriendism is gonna be deeply challenged.”
Here is how other tennis enthusiasts reacted to Eala’s loss to Jovic:
“I ont think being friendly friends on tour is a good idea. Maybe the old players are right,” one fan wrote.
“Alexandra Eala. Bet her, you go broke. Fade her, you get scammed. F**king industry plant man,” another added.
“As usual Alex Eala wins a bunch of matches or wins a 125k (not a tour-level event) and people get excited about it just for her to get rolled over ,” one X user commented.
Alexandra Eala hailed as a ‘great player’ by Iva Jovic amidst Queen’s Club exit
Alexandra Eala and Iva Jovic’s battle on Wednesday, June 10 saw the American deliver an absolutely clinical performance to clinch the win. While Eala did her best to fight back, the 21-year-old was unable to do a lot.
After the match, Jovic hailed Eala as a ‘great player’ and a ‘great friend’, saying,
“Alex is a great player. It’s more fun playing doubles with her than being on the other side of the net. It’s unfortunate that we have to play in the early rounds; hopefully, we play in some finals soon enough. She’s a great friend of mine; I’m grateful for her.”
Up next, Alexandra Eala will now go on to compete at the Berlin Tennis Open. The WTA 500 takes place between June 15 and June 21, with the entry list for the event featuring the likes of World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff and more.
Edited by Riddhi Acharya