Alex Eala suffered a first-round exit at the hands of her good friend Iva Jovic earlier today, seeing her Roland Garros campaign end before it had even really begun.
When the draw emerged, many winced as they saw who the 21-year-old would be facing.
After all, as an unseeded player, it was bound to be tough. Iva Jovic arguably represented one of the most awkward draws.
Alexandra Eala and the American teenager are two of the sport’s best young talents, but more interestingly, they are great friends.
The former has spoken about how it feels to face someone with whom you share a healthy relationship, after her loss to Jovic.
Alex Eala reviews her loss to Iva Jovic at Roland Garros
Speaking at her press conference, the Filipina superstar explained the unique feeling of facing a good friend in a competition as fierce as a Grand Slam.
Eala admitted: “In regard to playing a friend, Iva is such a good friend. I think the difficulty comes in knowing that not both of us are going to advance.
Alex Eala is OUT of Roland Garros ❌ Where does she rank among the best young talents on the WTA Tour? 🤔
“Of course, as friends you all want to advance together. But in terms of actually competing against each other, as competitors, I think we are accustomed to it and professional. So everything is just prepared in the same way that you would any other match. I think the difficult with facing Iva comes with her being a great tennis player and really good competitor, instead of being my friend”
Then, assessing their respective performances, Eala added: “I think there were a couple of things that Iva did better than me today and I think that’s where I see the differences between players at her ranking and players at my general level. I’m not saying that I can’t get there, and I’m not saying I have not put out that level yet, but I know what work needs to be done in order to make it more my average.”
Whilst such an early exit at Roland Garros is disappointing, it does allow her to focus on the change of surface before the bulk of the tour. Eala has recently added a new grass-court tournament to her schedule too.
What Iva Jovic has that Alex Eala needs to learn
Despite these two youngsters engaging in one of the more entertaining straight-sets battles, the gulf between them was clear.
And, what’s particularly promising for Eala is that the key difference was not physical or technical.
Jovic was simply far more aggressive, and was able to utilise bursts of energy in crucial moments to stay on top in the match.
Both players brought about nine break points on their opponent’s serve, but the 18-year-old converted six to Eala’s three.
The way in which Jovic upped her level when it was needed was impressive, hitting 34 winners, nearly 20 more than her opponent, whilst keeping her unforced error count just one higher than Eala’s.
Who has impressed you the most?
Today’s victor was simply braver in the key moments, and hit the ball with far more freedom.
It will not take much for Eala to add this to her game and make herself a contender just like Jovic.
