MANILA, Philippines — For the third time in as many matches, Filipino tennis ace Alex Eala bowed to American Iva Jovic, losing steam in their US Open third-round encounter, 5-7, 6-3, 5-7, at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York Sunday morning in Manila.
Eala forced a decider and took control of the third set to take a 4-2 lead but lost steam as Jovic found another gear to win three games in a row for a 5-4 lead.
World No. 18 Eala held serve to extend the match but No. 14 Jovic likewise held serve and then broke Eala to finish the match in 3 hours and 3 minutes.
Jovic faces world No. 4 Coco Gauff in the fourth round.
