Iva Jovic was forced to face her good friend Alex Eala for a second time within a month this week, and once again showed no mercy.
Having knocked her out of Roland Garros in just the second round, the American was arguably even more ruthless in their most recent match-up, winning by a 6-2, 6-2 scoreline and setting up a mouth-watering clash with Amanda Anisimova.
Meanwhile, for the Filipina sensation, it is back to the drawing board.
Jovic has been discussing her relationship with Eala since, with kind words for her good friend whilst speaking on court.
However, when she headed to her press conference, that praise did not relent.
Iva Jovic speaks about Alex Eala after beating her at Queen’s
Asked to discuss how it feels to face a good friend like Alexandra Eala on court, Iva Jovic admitted it was not as difficult as some might think.
She revealed: “For me, it’s not that difficult when I play a friend. I think we’re all used to it at this point. We have had to do it for many years now.
What is going wrong for Alex Eala against the top players?
She only won four games against Iva Jovic at Queen's…
‘But, you know, as I said before, I wish we could play at a later stage of the tournaments, so hopefully when both of our rankings go up, we will be on other sides of the brackets until semis or finals.
“But, you know, there is no bad blood. We were just talking in the locker room. It’s all good. We’re back to being friends now off the court (smiling).”
Then asked when they first met, Jovic added: “The first time I met her, saw her, was the junior US Open, the year that she won it. I played doubles against her, against her and Mirra, and we got killed. That was the first time I met her, and she’s been a very nice person ever since. Last year I got to know her much better.”
Iva Jovic explains why grass is her favourite surface
It feels uncommon for an American to name anything other than hard as their favourite surface, but Jovic continues to insist that grass reigns supreme for her.
When asked to expand on why that might be in this same press conference, she admitted: “I actually didn’t know that that’s what it said on my profile. Yeah, I love the grass.
Who has impressed you the most?
“I mean, this is my third year now doing the grass court stint. I have always been winning a lot of matches here, and I think I just naturally play in a way that suits the grass.”
However, the 18-year-old admitted it is a new development, adding: “That didn’t come from playing on the grass growing up, but somehow that’s how it ended up. I stay pretty low, which helps, as well, on the grass. So I think just some things that I naturally do are the ones that are beneficial on this surface.”
