Jinx

Alex Eala snapped her 8-match losing streak to women whose tongue twister surnames end in ova, not the female egg cells, but how they blanked the Filipina. Since last year, Alex lost to Fruhvirtova, Krejcikova, Vondrousova, Valentova, Alexandrova, Valentova, Noskova and Muchova.

But suddenly in Madrid this year, Eala beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Alex did not only solve the puzzle of the difficult to say and write surnames, but also their equally hard or harder games. This the Filipina did at the expense of the former French Open finalist who also reached the quarterfinals of all majors.

Alex is a giant slayer, the players fear her. Iga Swiatek said Alex is capable of surprises. Karolina Muchova called her dangerous. Barbora Krejcikova dubbed the Filipina a representative of the next generation tennis players. Yet her countrymen and women call her the first round exit queen.

Mean, demeaning and condescending in social media but most polite and phony face to face. Filipinos are. Demanding of their representatives in sports and pageantry, unforgiving of error margin, but least exacting of their leaders, they even defend and justify their blatant betrayal, lies and deception even in the august halls.

Eala not only beat Pavlyuchenkova, she silenced her detractors. There is always a first time. She may have lost to eight players before, but she ended it big by beating a bigger player. She is now one of the top players in the world. Not yet top 10, but she can beat top 10 players.

That’s tennis, you will never know what happens next. Just like in life and love, without reference to a billionaire celebrity who reportedly aborted her wedding to a billionaire scion. No third party culprit, but the pre-nuptial agreement. Accordingly, some stipulations were not mutually acceptable. Should have been easy, if both were to fully protect their wealth and property, do not marry. Short and simple. For curiously, why immortalize a union and prepare for its extinction? Or better yet, why marry each other for love and protect each other from being robbed? Love would have been enough, if there was any to begin with.

Just like the French Open, the major known for love. It produced unexpected champions, many of whom became one-slam wonders. Alex may not be one of them, clay is not her best surface. She just lost in the first round of a tournament tune-up to Roland Garros. This time Alexandra lost to a qualifier named Oleksandra. Surnamed Oliynykova. The curse is not yet ova.