Eala smokes Joint, blazes way to Wimbledon third round
MANILA, Philippines — In order to advance at this year’s Wimbledon, Alex Eala had to exorcise the ghost of a tournament’s past and defeat Maya Joint.
Last year, Joint won the Lexus Eastbourne Open championship against Eala after three grueling sets.
On Thursday evening (Manila time), Eala was held in a similar position, losing the first set and forcing a third set. But this time around, the Filipina dug deep and completed the job, outlasting her Australian opponent, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0, in the second round of the tournament.
After becoming the first Filipina to win a match at Wimbledon, Eala will thus continue her historic run in Wimbledon, where she will face either Karolina Pliskova or World No. 3 Iga Swiatek.
After seeing a 3-4 deficit in the first set turn to a 3-6 loss, Eala picked up the pieces and blasted off in the second set.
She turned a slim 3-2 advantage to a 6-2 win in the frame to force the extended set.
But Eala, ranked 32nd in the world, continued to roll.
One game after another, the Filipina showed steady composure and built a lead brick by brick.
And, as she had great return after another as she also took advantage of a shaky and error-filled performance of Joint, Eala was able to serve up a bagel and grab the victory after an hour and 57 minutes.
"Yeah, I really had to dig deep, especially after that first set. Maya came out on fire, she came out ready and I was expecting a really good match. Of course, we've competed, so I was prepared for a good match," Eala said after the match.
"She, obviously, is coming off an amazing win [against Serena Williams.] I watched it, and I think she played really well and handled herself really well in that situation. So, congratulations to Maya and knowing that, I really had to dig deep," she added.
Eala’s day, though, is not yet over. The Filipina star is set to compete in doubles’ action, teaming up with Nikola Bartunkova to face the pair of Jelena Ostapenko and Sofia Kenin.
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