Wimbledon: Eala recovers to power past Joint into third round for first time
London, July 2
Alexandra Eala of the Philippines continued her onward march at Wimbledon, scoring a fine comeback victory over Maya Joint to secure a maiden entry into the third round at the All England Club in London on Thursday.
In the opening stages of the match, Australia's Joint took an early lead, looking as sharp as she did during her win against Serena Williams a couple of days back.
But Eala clawed her way back, buoyed by vocal support from fans bearing the Filipino flag. In the deciding set, Eala, 21, scored a crucial early break and powered through to a 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 win in just under two hours.
This win, which means Eala is the first Filipino player to reach the third round at The Championships, was long-awaited revenge after she lost an excruciatingly close battle to Joint in the Eastbourne final last year, which ended 12-10 in the deciding set tie-break.
Earlier, Marie Bouzkova and Emma Navarro, who met in the final of the Nottingham Open two weeks ago, advanced to the Ladies' Singles third round with contrasting victories.
The No. 21 seed Bouzkova recovered from an early break in the opening set to defeat Grant 7-5, 6-3, reaching the third round at Wimbledon for the third time. Her best Grand Slam result came at the All England Club in 2022, when she reached the quarterfinals.
Bouzkova will next face Liudmila Samsonova, last year's Wimbledon quarterfinalist, who upset No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the third round. Samsonova holds a 3-2 edge in the head-to-head series on the WTA Tour, Driven by Mercedes-Benz, although Bouzkova won their only previous meeting on grass.
Navarro, who fell to Bouzkova in the Nottingham final, rallied past Oksana Selekhmeteva 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the third round at the All England Club for the third consecutive year. The American reached the quarterfinals in 2024 and the fourth round last year.
She has now won 14 of her past 18 tour-level matches and will next face either No. 12 seed Marta Kostyuk or Anna Blinkova.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Great win for Eala! But let's not forget Maya Joint's earlier win against Serena Williams – that was a statement. Joint seems to have trouble sustaining momentum in longer matches. Still, thrilled to see a Filipino player making history at Wimbledon!
The revenge narrative is real here – losing that Eastbourne final 12-10 in the deciding tie-break must have stung. Eala showed true champion mentality to come back and win this time. Also, Navarro's consistency at Wimbledon is impressive – three straight third rounds! 🙌
Bouzkova vs Samsonova in the third round should be a cracker! Grass court history gives Bouzkova the edge, but Samsonova's power game is dangerous. Wish we had more Indian players in the mix, but it's good to see Asian representation in women's tennis at the highest level.
Honest question: why don't Indian tennis authorities invest more in grassroots programs like Philippines does? Eala's success didn't happen overnight – look at her journey. We have talent but lack proper systems. Otherwise we'd see more Indian names alongside these rising stars. 😔
Eala's 6-0 final set is pure dominance – that psychological edge after the break must have shattered Joint's confidence. And kudos to Navarro recovering from that Nottingham loss to Bouzkova to make another third round here. This generation of women's tennis is producing some incredible stories!
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