Jovic won the three-hour war, then spent her moment of victory talking about the friend she had just beaten.
Iva Jovic had just ended Alex Eala’s US Open run, and her first instinct was to talk about her opponent. The 18-year-old American outlasted Eala 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in a three-hour third-round battle on Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, reaching the fourth round of her home Slam for the first time. Waiting there is fourth seed and 2023 champion Coco Gauff.
It was the kind of match that could have left either player in tears. When Eala netted a forehand on Jovic’s second match point, the American sank to the court in relief. By the time she got up, Eala had already crossed to the other side of the net to wrap her in a hug.
Asked about that moment afterward, Jovic could barely hold herself together.
“I’m going to start crying,” Jovic told US Open reporters after the game. “But it says a lot about her as a person to be able to do that after that type of match and still come over and hug me and wish me all the best.”
Reporter: “Alex [Eala] went over to the other side of the net to give you a hug afterwards. If you could share a bit about that?”
Iva Jovic: “It says a lot about her as a person. I’m gonna start crying… to do that after that type of match and still come over to hug me and wish…
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 6, 2026
The two are close friends, which made the assignment cruel. They had faced off twice before this year, at the French Open and in London, and Jovic won both. Now she had won a third, the biggest one, on the sport’s grandest stage.
Jovic made clear the warmth between them was not just for the cameras. “And even in the locker room behind closed doors,” she said. “So that just says a lot about her and her character. So, yeah, she’s incredible.”
The tennis itself lived up to the billing. The match featured 17 service breaks across 33 games, with both players trading momentum in front of a crowd that leaned heavily toward Eala. Jovic struck 44 winners to 27 unforced errors and was sharp at the net, winning 12 of her 15 points there. Eala answered with 34 winners and won 16 of her 25 net points, but Jovic converted the bigger moments, going 9 of 17 on break points.
Eala, the 21-year-old Filipina and No. 17 seed, leaves New York having pushed one of the tournament’s rising Americans to the brink. The loss ends a strong stretch that included a fourth-round run at Wimbledon earlier this year.
Jovic, seeded 14th and already a Grand Slam quarterfinalist this season, summed up the ordeal in her own words. “That felt like a marathon and I felt like I lost my sanity five times over to win that match,” she said. “But it’s really worth it for this feeling.”
Iva Jovic had just ended Alex Eala’s US Open run, and her first instinct was to talk about her opponent. The 18-year-old American outlasted Eala 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in a three-hour third-round battle on Saturday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, reaching the fourth round of her home Slam for the first time. Waiting there is fourth seed and 2023 champion Coco Gauff.