ALEX Eala’s historic US Open campaign came to an end after she fell to American teenager Iva Jovic anew, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, in a tightly contested third-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday (Sunday in the Philippines) in New York.
The 17th-seeded Filipina had opportunities to extend her run but could not close out the much to a younger and higher-seed Jovic after taking a 4-2 advantage in the deciding set.
Eala also had to fight back from an early deficit in the opening set, falling behind 1-4 before leveling the contest. Jovic, however, regained control and eventually took the first set, 7-5.
Eala responded strongly in the second set, breaking away early before holding off repeated runs by Jovic and force a decider.
The third set then turned into a back-and-forth battle. Eala moved ahead 4-2 and appeared poised to seize control, but Jovic fought back and eventually secured the deciding break to complete the comeback.
Jovic, who secured her third career win over Eala in as many encounters, finished with 112 points won to Eala’s 102 and took 17 games compared with the Filipina’s 16.
Eala produced three aces but committed five double faults. She landed 90 percent of her first serves, although she won 50 percent of those points. Jovic served at a 94 percent first-serve rate and won 54 percent of her first-serve points.
Both players struggled to convert break opportunities, with Jovic going 9-of-17 and Eala 8-of-20.
Despite the loss, Eala leaves New York with her best US Open singles result, having reached the third round for the first time.
She opened the tournament with straight-set victories over Mary Stoiana and Oleksandra Oliynykova before her run ended against Jovic. (Adrian Co)
