AFTER dominating her first two opponents, Alex Eala's mettle will surely be tested when she battles her American friend Iva Jovic in the third round of the 2026 US Open on Saturday, Sept. 5, in New York City.
Early Friday morning, Eala exacted sweet revenge on Ukraine's Oleksandra Oliynykova with a 6-1, 6-4 victory to set up a clash with Jovic, who advanced after beating Britain's Francesca Jones, 6-4, 6-4.
Eala opened her campaign with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over American Mary Stoiana in the first round.
The 18-year-old Jovic holds a 2-0 head-to-head record over the 21-year-old Eala as she outplayed the Filipina in the round of 128 at the 2026 French Open, 6–4, 6–2, and the round of 16 at the 2026 Queen’s Club Championship, 6–2, 6–2.
Close friends outside the tennis court, Jovic and Eala paired in the doubles event of the 2026 ASB Classic where they outplayed the tandem of Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina in the round of 16.
They also played a one-set exhibition match at the “Stars Open” before the start of the ongoing Grand Slam tournament where they exchanged speaking in the other player’s mother language.
“It’s gonna be a tough match. Like you mentioned sisterhood, and having friends on tour, just helped me so much, off the court and on the court. The friends that I have that I really admire on what they’ve been through and what they go through,” said Eala, answering a hypothetical question on facing Jovic in the next round as the game match was not decided yet during the press conference.
The left-handed Filipina netter vowed to do her best, knowing well the strength of Jovic.
“Yes, she’s an amazing player, young, very talented, and very intelligent. Of course, she’s a higher-ranked player and very accomplished, and I encountered my fair share of challenges against her this year, but yeah, it’s not under my control who I will play,” Eala added.
The right-handed Jovic also shared the same excitement about facing Eala on Saturday.
“Yeah, I’m super excited. The atmosphere is gonna be amazing; she’s been playing some great tennis. It’s nice to be playing each other in the third round, deeper into the slam. Hopefully we can all keep going on runs like this,” she said after her match against Jones.
Jovic is ranked No. 14 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour while Eala is at No. 18.
Jovic is the youngest WTA 500 Guadalajara Open champion at 17 years old, after defeating Emiliana Arango in the finals in 2025.
Eala, on the other hand, earned her first WTA Tour title in the 2026 Washington Open against Jessical Pegula last month.
Jovic reached the quarterfinals of the 2026 Australian Open, making her the youngest American-born woman to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals since Venus Williams in 1998.
