Eala sets a rematch with Joint in second round of Wimbledon

WHAT could have been a showdown with the sport’s royalty has turned into a plot of vengeance against a familiar tormentor for the Filipina juggernaut Alexandra “Alex” Eala.

And count on the 21-year-old rising star, with a legion of fans behind her like she had in the opener, to still come in with the same — if not hotter — fire to settle an unfinished business and barge into the third round of a Grand Slam main draw for the first time ever.

“I had a really great match with Maya (Joint) last year so I’d love to have the chance to improve on some things that I could have improved from that match,” said Ms. Eala after arranging a rematch with the Australian star in Round 2 of the Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.

Ms. Eala and the 20-year-old Ms. Joint came from contrasting paths to go at it once again in the same country, a year after an epic finale battle in the 2025 Eastbourne Open, a pre-tournament for the queen of grass tournaments.

At Court 12, the 29^th seeded Ms. Eala as expected cruised past WTA No. 75 Renata Zarazua with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition in only 78 minutes of play. Ex-pros, champions and pundits projected this along with a win by former world No. 1 and 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.

But the WTA No. 87 Ms. Joint at center court slammed that door and dashed any Eala-Williams forecast, spoiling the return of the tennis queen after a four-year retirement with a 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 victory before a jampacked crowd in a two-hour, 22-minute marathon.

And so they meet again with Ms. Eala liking her chances this time around with an impressive grass campaign after bowing to Ms. Joint last year, 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (10-12) marked by wasting four championship points including a 10-9 lead in the super tiebreak.

Winner gets to roll into Round 3 against either former world no. 1 Karolina Pliskova of Czechia or world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland.

“I showed a really good level of tennis and played the important points well. But no match is going to be easy here,” said Ms. Eala, the first Filipina player to win a match in Wimbledon history on top of her feat as the first seeded player from the Philippines in any Slam ever. “I’m very happy with my first round so I’m hoping to keep this momentum going throughout the week.”

Ms. Eala did, breaking Ms. Zarazua twice to erect a 3-1 lead in the first set. It was all her since then, making the 28-year-old Mexican bleed for just two games won the rest of the way.

Ms. Joint, for her part, had to dig the deepest from her arsenal after losing a 4-3 lead in the second-set thriller to handle the 44-year-old and seven-time Wimbledon queen Ms. Williams, whose last match was 1,397 days ago at the 2022 US Open.

“It’s an honor. She’s such a legend. I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a little kid so this is crazy,” said Ms. Joint in the middle of a roller coaster season far before breaking through against Ms. Williams. “Even I didn’t win many matches this year, I feel like I could win. I have the belief.”

Ms. Eala avenged her defeat to Ms. Zarazua in the 2024 Cary Tennis Classic in the United States, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. In Round 2 of the Wimbledon, she sports a pretty chance to get back at Ms. Joint as well.

And she has the ardent Filipino community to rally behind her like in every city she played in for the past years as now one of the world’s tennis crowd darlings.

“Hindi ko inakala na ganoon ka-puno ang court ko kasi alam ko talaga ang hirap makakuha ng ticket dito sa Wimbledon. So, very thankful ako,” she beamed.

The rematch of Ms. Eala and Ms. Joint is yet to be scheduled as both players are also entered in the doubles tourney with Czechia’s Nikola Bartunkova and Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, respectively, against separate rivals. — John Bryan Ulanday