For Alexandra "Alex" Eala, what could have been a showdown with the sport's royalty has turned into a plot of vengeance against a familiar tormentor. The 21-year-old rising star is set to face her nemesis, Australian tennis star Maya Joint, in the second round of the Wimbledon tournament at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.
Eala is determined to settle an unfinished business and barge into the third round of a Grand Slam main draw for the first time ever. "I had a really great match with Maya last year, so I'd love to have the chance to improve on some things that I could have improved from that match," she said.
In contrast to Eala's path to the second round, Joint came from a contrasting background to face off against the 29th seeded Eala. Joint, seeded 87 in the WTA rankings, pulled off an upset victory against former world number one and 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the first round.
Eala cruised past WTA number 75 Renata Zarazua in the first round with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition in just 78 minutes of play. The 21-year-old has an impressive grass campaign, and she is looking to capitalize on her momentum against Joint.
The rematch between Eala and Joint will be a highly anticipated match, with the winner set to face either former world number one Karolina Pliskova of Czechia or world number three Iga Swiatek of Poland in the third round.
Eala is confident in her abilities, saying, "I showed a really good level of tennis and played the important points well. But no match is going to be easy here." The first Filipina player to win a match in Wimbledon history, Eala is looking to build on her historic achievement.
Eala's impressive performance in the first round saw her break her opponent twice to take a 3-1 lead in the first set. She then went on to win the rest of the match in convincing fashion, winning just two games from her opponent.
Joint, on the other hand, had to dig deep to pull off her upset victory against Williams. She came from behind to win the second set in a thrilling tiebreaker, before going on to win the match in three sets.
The Australian tennis star is looking to build on her momentum, saying, "It's an honor. She's such a legend. I've been dreaming of this since I was a little kid so this is crazy." Joint is set to face Eala in a highly anticipated rematch.
The Filipino community is rallying behind Eala, who is now one of the world's tennis crowd darlings. "Hindi ko inakala na ganoon ka-puno ang court ko kasi alam ko talaga ang hirap makakuha ng ticket dito sa Wimbledon. So, very thankful ako," she beamed.
