Alex Eala’s impressive winning streak on grass has come to an end at the HSBC Championships after she fell to sixth seed Iva Jovic, 6-2, 6-2, in the Round of 16 at Queen’s Club in London.
The defeat marked Eala’s second straight loss to the fast-rising American teenager, who also eliminated her in the opening round of the French Open just two weeks earlier.
Jovic’s Precision Overwhelms Eala in Opening Set
Jovic, ranked world No. 19, immediately imposed her game as she used her aggressive baseline play and powerful serving to dictate the pace from the outset.
The American teenager secured an early break and quickly established control of the opening set, forcing Eala to play catch-up throughout the contest. While the Filipina showed flashes of the form that carried her to the Birmingham championship, she struggled to consistently match Jovic’s level of execution.
The 18-year-old broke serve in the opening game and eventually built a commanding 4-1 advantage in the first set. The 21-year-old Eala attempted to respond by increasing the pace of her groundstrokes and fighting through lengthy rallies, but Jovic repeatedly found answers.
The sixth seed’s efficiency proved decisive. She consistently attacked short balls, struck clean winners from both wings, and limited her mistakes. By the end of the match, Jovic had compiled an impressive 26 winners while committing only nine unforced errors.
Eala, meanwhile, was unable to generate the same consistency. Although she produced several quality winners of her own, the Filipina finished with 19 unforced errors as Jovic continually pressured her into difficult positions.
Brief Resistance from Eala Wasn’t Enough
The second set began with signs that the Rafa Nadal Academy alumna might mount a comeback.
The Quezon City native held serve in the opening game to move ahead 1-0, displaying the confidence that had fueled her undefeated run on grass entering the tournament. However, Jovic quickly erased that advantage, firing consecutive aces during her next service game before breaking Eala once more.
From there, the 2025 WTA 125 Ilkley Open champion seized complete control. Using her powerful first serve and aggressive return game, the two-time WTA champion won six of the next seven games to pull away. Every time Eala attempted to extend rallies, Jovic found ways to finish points early and deny the Filipina any opportunity to build momentum.
After just 76 minutes on court, Iva Jovic completed another straight-sets victory over her close friend, securing a quarterfinal berth and extending her head-to-head advantage over Eala to 2-0.
Eala’s Winning Streak Ends, Now Focuses on Germany
Although the result was disappointing, Eala leaves Queen’s Club with plenty of positives from her grass-court campaign.
The 21-year-old entered the tournament fresh off her championship run at the Lexus Birmingham Open, where she captured her second WTA 125 title and rose to a career-high ranking of World No. 33. She previously won her Round of 32 match against China’s Shuai Zhang, which extended her winning streak to six.
She now turns her attention to the WTA 500 Berlin Tennis Open, where she is a qualifier in the singles tournament beginning June 15.
