Close friends Eala, Jovic clash in HSBC C’ships

Sports

ALEX Eala and Iva Jovic have forged a strong bond as they navigated through their respective rising careers.

“She’s one of the nicest people. I’m here for her, she’s there for me. We gave each other a big hug before the match and the same after,” Jovic said moments after her victory over Eala in the French Open last May.

That friendship will have to take a backseat one more time as the two young guns fight for life at each other’s expense in the HSBC Championships at the Queen’s Club.

Eala and Jovic set up an intriguing duel after they hurdled their respective first-round opponents late Tuesday (Philippine time), June 9.

Two days after completing a a title run in the Birmingham Open, the world No. 33 Eala showed no signs of fatigue after taking down doubles champion Shuai Zhang, 6-3, 6-2.

The 36-year-old Zhang, currently ranked No. 64, took off to a hot 2-0 start in the opening set. Eala didn’t panic, clawing back by winning three straight games to take the lead, 3-2.

The 21-year-old Eala cruised from that point on and carried the momentum into the second set where she raced to a commanding 4-1 lead.

On the other hand, the 18-year-old American Jovic secured her own Round of 16 seat after dominating Croatian Antonia Ruzic, 6-3, 6-4.

Jovic is the tournament’s No. 6 seed. She is currently enjoying a career-high world ranking of No. 16. Eala’s career-high ranking stood at No. 29.(CCM)