AHEAD of her campaign in the French Open, Alex Eala received a birthday cake from her tennis buddies, which included Iva Jovic, whom she will face in the tournament’s first round.
Eala, who turned 21 on May 23, was presented the cake by Jovic, Eva Lys of Germany, and Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey after a practice round.
“21 can you do sum (some) for meeeee,” Eala posted on social media.
The Filipina tennis sensation also had a simple birthday dinner with her family, with the iconic Eiffel Tower as the backdrop.
With no exact match time announced, anticipation builds for what will be the first-ever singles match between Eala and Jovic, the 17th-seeded American.
Earlier this year, the two teamed up in doubles at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, reaching the semifinals before falling to the third-seeded Chinese pair Xu Yi Fan and Yang Zhao Xuan.
At Roland Garros, Eala will partner up in the women’s doubles with world No. 9 Victoria Mboko of Canada. They will go up against Leylah Fernandez of Canada and Diana Shnaider of Russia in the first round.
Messages of support for Eala poured in from across the tennis world and beyond, including from fellow Filipina and Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz.
Reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff of US and Philippine Women’s Open titlist Camila Osorio of Colombia also commented on Eala’s post.
