Roland Garros: Iva Jovic and Alex Eala’s heartwarming moment before and after match
Good friends Iva Jovic and Alex Eala met in the first round of the French Open and, sadly for the two youngsters, there could only be one winner.
The two rising stars of the game, along with Eva Lys, Victoria Mboko and Zeynep Sonmez, spend a lot of time together away from tennis and, in fact, they celebrated Eala’s 21st birthday on the eve of Roland Garros with only Mboko absent as she was competing in the final in Strasbourg.
But Jovic and Eala had to put their friendship aside as they faced each at the clay-court Grand Slam in a career-first WTA Tour meeting on Tuesday.
And it was the 17th seed who emerged victorious as she came away with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Eala and, after the match, the American took to social media to reveal her one regret about sport.
“One of those days I wish there could be two winners, ❤️ you @alex.eala,” Jovic captioned her Instagram post.
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Eala was one of the first to reply and wrote: “No one I’d rather share the court with🙌 LOVE YOU GIRL!!”
Jovic was asked about facing Eala during her post-match press conference and admitted that both players knew what to expect on the day.
“I think there was no secrets there. We practiced together a ton. We played doubles together a ton. So, I think we both know our tendencies and everyone was ready for the other one,” the teenager said.
“It was just about who was going to play their game a bit better that day. And she’s definitely one of my closest friends on tour. I have so much respect for her as a person and a player. So, you know, we we had a big hug before the match, a big hug after.
“No bad blood there. I’m sure there’ll be many more matches and she’ll get me a couple times, too. So, that’s tennis.”
Jovic will face fellow American Emma Navarro, who defeated Janice Tjen in the second round, in a rematch of their recent Strasbourg round of 16 clash that was won by Navarro.
Eala will switch focus to the grass-court season as she is next set to be in action at the Birmingham WTA 125K with the tournament starting on 1 June.
