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Reuters

Agence France-Presse

Iva Jovic ⁠and Alexandra Eala put their friendship aside for three hours at the US Open on Saturday before the 18-year-old American prevailed to reach the fourth round.
The home hope’s 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 triumph at Arthur Ashe Stadium was a rare bright spot for the New York crowd, who had earlier watched China’s Zheng Qinwen overcome Madison Keys in stunning fashion.
On the brink of losing the third set 6-0, Zheng rallied to complete a remarkable 1-6, 7-6, 7-5 victory.
Jovic and Eala already shared the court in New York during Fan Week when they teamed up with their fathers for a light-hearted doubles hit.
There was little room for sentiment once the match began on Saturday, however.

Jovic edged a tight opening set, but Eala responded ⁠in the second, the 21-year-old raising her level to force a decider.
The final set ‌again featured momentum swings, with Jovic trailing 4-2 before fighting back to close out the victory and extend her head-to-head ‌record against Eala to 3-0, with a win on each of the ⁠three surfaces.
“That felt ⁠like a marathon. I felt like I lost my sanity five times over to win that ‌match. But it’s really worth it for this feeling,” Jovic said. “I’m usually not one that ‌shows that ‌many emotions. But this one really meant a lot to me. It’s ‌everything to have another match at the US Open.”
Jovic’s victory was a welcome ⁠bright spot on a day Taylor Fritz, Keys ⁠and Amanda Anisimova were among the home players eliminated.
Of the three, Keys’ departure from the tournament was perhaps the most surprising, given Zheng’s performances over the past year as she continued to recover from elbow surgery.
A former world No 4, the Chinese star’s ranking had dropped so far she had to go through qualifying to earn her place in the main draw.
It has all made for an emotional spell at Flushing Meadows for the 23-year-old, who felt she “forgot how to compete” during her enforced absence but could now feel her competitive fire burning.
“I have a lot of emotions when I’m playing the qualifying matches,” she said. “I was even crying after I won the third match to reach the main draw, and you know, the main draw is just the beginning.
“For today, after coming back from 0-5, the first thing in that moment I thought, ‘Please, I don’t want to be beaten 6-0’.”
She got her game on the board, and saved a match point at 5-1, and she was off and running.
“Then I felt I have a lot of energy. I can just keep pushing, keep fighting,” she said. “At the end when I won the match, it’s like, ‘Wow, that’s incredible.’
“Finally, one time the luck is on my side because all these three, four months I have been suffering a lot.”
With few matches under her belt this year, Zheng said it took her some time to get to grips with Keys’ big forehand.
And when she held serve for 5-1 in the third she could immediately feel Keys’ conviction wane.
“I see there is some, maybe, doubt or, I don’t know, not as clean [hitting] as before,” Zheng said.
“She started to make a lot of mistakes in that moment, and I start to feel like, ‘OK, I need to be there. I need to keep fighting, don’t give up, and let’s see what’s going to happen’.”
Keys said her struggles were something that had been building. After she earned her big lead in the third, she said: “I got really scared, like I couldn’t swing … I felt like I couldn’t play tennis any more.”
For Zheng, it was a reminder never to let go of a match until the final point.
“Tennis sometimes feels like roller coaster,” she said. “So this gives me also lesson that in a tennis match you always have to be there.
“It doesn’t matter if you are winning or losing. You have a match point or you don’t have a match point, you just need to concentrate every single point as long as you can.”


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US Open (tennis)

Alexandra Eala crashes out of US Open after Zheng Qinwen downs Keys in epic upset

Alexandra Eala’s US Open is over for another year. Photo: EPA

Zheng Qinwen pulled off a remarkable win in New York. Photo: Xinhua

Sport

Tennis

Filipino loses three-set battle to friend Iva Jovic, while Chinese star fights back to stun Madison Keys and reach the fourth round


Filipino loses three-set battle to friend Iva Jovic, while Chinese star fights back to stun Madison Keys and reach the fourth round.


Alexandra Eala

Zheng Qinwen

Madison Keys

Alexandra Eala crashes out of US Open after Zheng Qinwen downs Keys in epic upset

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Filipino loses three-set battle to friend Iva Jovic, while Chinese star fights back to stun Madison Keys and reach the fourth round

Filipino loses three-set battle to friend Iva Jovic, while Chinese star fights back to stun Madison Keys and reach the fourth round