In a clash of two rising stars and good friends on the tour, Alex Eala just had no answer for Iva Jovic.
The Philippines' rising tennis star Eala was once again on the losing end in her second go-around in the French Open with a 4-6, 2-6 first-round defeat by No. 17 seed Jovic on Tuesday.
The match started competitive with Eala having two break opportunities in the first game of the contest, immediately putting pressure on the American with her aggressive returns and ability to extend rallies on clay.
However, Jovic escaped the early danger and held serve, which eventually became an important tone-setter to rack up a 5-1 lead, powered by breaks in the fourth and sixth games.
The Filipina fought back with with two breaks in a three-game run to cut the deficit to 5-4, but Jovic halted Eala's momentum to record her third break to win the opening set 6-4.
It was through the second-serve points that Jovic had the advantage at 14-6, despite Eala having the better first-serve percentage at 67% compared with the American's 50%.
The second set started tighter at 2-2 apiece, with Jovic and Eala trading breaks early, but the 18-year old American then recorded four straight games won to close out the match.
The solid return of the 2026 Australian Open quarterfinalist overwhelmed Eala, recoding a 21-10 first-return points lead.
This defeat wraps up the clay-court season of Eala, and she is ranked No. 37 going to the grass swing.