Eala-Serena Williams clash will have to wait as Joint plays spoiler at Wimbledon
MANILA, Philippines — A dream matchup between Alex Eala and tennis legend Serena Williams will remain a dream — for now.
This, after Maya Joint grinded out a three-set, 6-3, 6(6)-7, 6-3 victory over Williams in their first-round matchup at Wimbledon Wednesday morning (Manila time).
After getting the huge win over Williams, the Australian said that it gave her a boost heading to the collision course with the pride of the Philippines.
“I think it just gives me some confidence that I've been searching for for a while. Just, yeah, proving to myself that I can win and I'm still at the top level,” Joint told reporters.
Against Williams, Joint punched in 76 service points to her opponent’s 56.
Williams, on the other hand, won 47 receiving points to Joint’s 39.
But now, Joint’s focus shifts to Eala.
Eala already booked her ticket to the second round of Wimbledon after winning over Renata Zarazua, 6-1, 6-2.
With Eala’s victory, she became the first Filipina tennis player to win a match in Wimbledon in the Open era.
The Australian, ranked 45th in the world, faced off against World No. 29 in the Lexus Eastbourne Open final last year. There, Joint also prevailed and won the title over Eala.
“Yeah. I'm surprised we haven't played each other since. We've been pretty much all the same tournaments. And we had an amazing, epic match last time we played in Eastbourne,” she said.
“So I'm, you know, expecting the same kind of match this time. Yeah, I’m really excited. I think it’s going to be really fun.”
The Eala-Joint second round matchup is set on Thursday, with the time yet to be determined.
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