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Alex Eala talks friendship with Iva Jovic after French Open defeat
Alexandra "Alex" Eala may have fallen short against Iva Jovic in the opening round of the 2026 French Open singles tournament, but off the court, the Filipina tennis star spoke highly of her close friend on tour.
Before their respective campaigns began, Jovic, along with Zeynep Sonmez and Eva Lys, celebrated Eala’s birthday in France.
On Tuesday, however, Eala bowed to her friend in their Round of 128 showdown.
“With regards to playing a friend, of course, Iva is such a good friend of mine. But I think the difficulty comes in just knowing that not both of us are going to advance, and of course, as friends, you all want to advance together,” Eala said in a press conference.
“But in terms of actually competing against each other as competitors, I think we're very accustomed to it, and we're all professionals so everything kind of just prepared in the same way that you would any other Slam.”
Eala also praised Jovic’s game and competitiveness.
“And I think the difficulty with facing Iva comes from her being a great tennis player and her being a really good competitor instead of being my friend.”
After the match, Jovic took to Instagram to share her thoughts on their encounter.
“One of those days I wish there could be two winners, [heart emoji] you, Alex Eala.”
Eala will still see action in the doubles tournament alongside Victoria Mboko.
—JKC, GMA News
