Eala facing bumpy road ahead

Alex Eala faces a tough road to the French Open as the main draw was unveiled Thursday.

Eala, 20, will be kicking off her campaign at the Roland Garros on Sunday battling world No. 17 and frequent doubles partner Iva Jovic of the United States in the Round of 128 on Sunday (Manila time).

It will be the Rafael Nadal Academy graduate’s first time competing against the 18-year-old Jovic in any Women’s Tennis Association Tour competition.

Should Eala defeat Jovic, she could find herself facing some of the toughest names in the sport as she pursues her first Grand Slam title in her professional career.

Names such as No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 2 Elena Rybakina, No. 3 Iga Swiatek and defending Champion Coco Gauff will banner the second Grand Slam tournament of the year and the biggest clay tennis tournament in the world.

Also joining the French Open are Janice Tjen of Indonesia, Filipino-Canadian Leylah Fernandez and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.

According to Tennishead, should Eala prevail over Jovic, she will be pitted against American netter Emma Navarro in the Round of 64, former world No.1 Naomi Osaka in the Last 32, Sabalenka in the Round of 16, Jessica Pegula of the United States in the quarterfinal, Gauff in the semifinal, and Rybakina for the title.

As Eala enters her second French Open main draw, she will have a lot of motivation as she looks to end her clay season with a big win.

Eala has yet to make an impact on the clay court this year after a string of early exits in previous competitions.

She was recently booted out of the Strasbourg Open in France last Monday after a 6-3, 5-7, 3-6 loss to Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine in the Round of 32.