FILIPINO tennis ace Alexandra "Alex" Eala faces one of her close friends on the WTA Tour, Iva Jovic, in the US Open "Stars of the Open" exhibition match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York Friday morning in Manila.
The match is set at 6 p.m. Thursday in New York (6 a.m. Friday in Manila).
It will be Eala's final match before the singles main draw slated from Aug. 30 to Sept. 13.
Eala started her US Open campaign in mixed doubles with Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday night.
The Filipino-Canadian duo fell to the wife-husband tandem of Ukrainian Elina Svitolina and French Gael Monfils, 1-4, 1-4, in the first round.
World No. 18 Eala had not beaten No. 14 Jovic in their two official matches.
Eala yielded to the American at the French Open first round, 4-6, 2-6, last May and at the Queen's Club second round, 2-6, 2-6, the following month.
Both Eala and Jovic are seeded in this US Open and could clash in the third round, provided they get past their respective first two matches.
Eala will likely be seeded a notch higher than her ranking at No. 17 due to world No. 15 Victoria Mboko's withdrawal.
Mboko continues to recover from a left knee injury sustained at the Queen's Club in London last June.
Meanwhile, Eala was set to share the court anew with her 2-time doubles partner and former 2-time US Open champ Venus Williams Wednesday night in Manila.
Eala and Williams were scheduled to practice from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Wednesday at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows (11 p.m. to 12 midnight Thursday in Manila).
The 21-year-old Eala was set to return to practice from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Wednesday (1:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday in Manila).
Williams is a wild-card entrant in this tournament.
