Alex Eala, Iva Jovic defeat veterans Venus Williams, Elina Svitolina in ASB Classic doubles Round 1
Alex Eala kicked off the ASB Classic women's doubles with a bang as the Filipina tennis phenom and her partner, Iva Jovic, toppled Venus Williams and Elina Svitolina.
On Jan. 5, 20-year-old Eala and 18-year-old Jovic from the US edged out the veterans with a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory in Auckland.
The hard court game finished in 1 hour and 29 minutes, with the younger pair managing to save eight points in the first set. In the second set, the Philippine-American duo dominated, winning the first four games.
"There was a great first set, and you get the momentum after that," Eala said, according to a report on the ASB Classic website. "But it's so easy to kind of crash, and I think we did a good job of keeping each other's energy."
In an on-court interview after the match, the Filipina shared that she had a lot of fun in the doubles opener.
"To start the year with such a moment like this and sharing the court with two pioneers of the sport and pioneers off the court as well—people I looked up to since I was young—I'm so happy to share this moment with you and all of you guys," she said, pointing to Jovic and the crowd.
Eala and Jovic are next set to face the winner of the doubles match between US' Asia Muhammad and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe against Mexico's Renata Zarazúa and the Czech Republic's Jesika Malecková.
Meanwhile, Eala is also scheduled for a singles match against Croatia's Donna Vekic on Monday afternoon.
Williams, a 45-year-old American tennis player, took the world's No. 1 spot in the WTA singles for 11 weeks and doubles for eight weeks. She's also a seven-time Grand Slam champion.
On the other hand, her doubles partner, Svitolina, has also etched her name in the books. Currently the world's No. 13, the 31-year-old Ukrainian athlete has won 18 WTA Tour singles titles and reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world.
