She finally overcame her familiar opponent.
Filipina tennis star Alex Eala has indeed learned her lesson from her previous match-ups with Australian netter Maya Joint.
The two had their paths cross again at the ongoing Wimbledon Championships in the United Kingdom, where they battled it out in the second round of the women’s singles.
Eala is fresh from her win against another familiar opponent in Renata Zarazua from Mexico in the first round, while Joint faced none other than comebacking tennis icon Serena Williams.
Backed by their respective wins, both showed grit as they look to continue in the Grand Slam event.
In the first round, the Australian found her early footing despite the Filipina coming closely in the early games and repeatedly tried to cut down the lead. Joint would ultimately win the first set.
However, fortunes reversed as Alex was fired up and delivered a powerful performance in the second set to push the match to a deciding third, which she completely aced by not letting Maya score even a single point.
The game ended with the final scores of 3-6, 6-2, 6-0, with the Filipina tennis star, who is currently World no. 32, heading to the third round and face her third familiar foe, who is none other than Polish player Iga Swiatek.
She has also teamed up with Czech star Nikola Bartunkova, whom she played against in the Birmingham Open fimals, in the women’s doubles set for Friday, July 3 (Manila time). Together, they will face Jelena Ostapenko and Sofia Kenin.