MANILA, Philippines — Renewing their doubles partnership, Filipino netter Alex Eala and Czech Nikola Bartunkova will face the lethal Latvian-American duo of Jelena Ostapenko and Sofia Kenin in the first round (round of 64) at the Wimbledon Championships.
The tournament draw on Friday revealed the match which is set on July 2 in London, England.
Eala and Bartunkova first teamed up at the Birmingham Open, where they fell to local bets Harriet Dart and Maia Lumsden, 4-6, 6-2, 9-11, on June 1,
The 21-year-old Eala and 20-year-old Bartunkova eventually clashed in the singles final of the same tournament, with the Filipino coming out on top, 5-7, 6-3, 7-5.
Back as partners, Eala and Bartunkova will face Ostapenko and Kenin, who won 12 and four doubles titles, respectively.
While Eala and Bartunkova are ranked No. 151 and 1799, respectively, Ostapenko is No. 10 while Kenin is No. 37.
Like Eala and Bartunkova, Ostapenko and Kenin are familiar with each other, as they just teamed up at the Eastbourne Open doubles less than a week ago.
Ostapenko and Kenin reached the quarterfinals but withdrew due to the latter's injury.
Holding a 2-1 lead in their singles head-to-head, Eala has already faced Ostapenko in a doubles match at Indian Wells last March.
Eala, alongside Iva Jovic, fell to Ostapenko who teamed up with Hailey Baptiste, 2-6, 2-6, in the first round.
Meanwhile, Eala will team up with Joao Fonseca for an exhibition match against Jovic and Learner Tien in the US Open on August 27.
