Alex Eala harbors no ill will against Iva Jovic despite suffering an early exit in the women’s singles event of the French Open last Tuesday in Paris.

The 21-year-old Filipina said her 4-6, 2-6 setback to the world No. 17 from the United States doesn’t affect their friendship. In fact, they even shared a hug after the match, much to the delight of the packed Roland Garros Stadium.

With the loss in her second Grand Slam event of the year, Eala’s singles campaign in clay tournaments formally came to a close. She, however, is still competing with partner Victoria Mboko of Canada against Filipino-Canadian Leylah Fernandez and Russian Diana Shnaider in the Round of 64 of the women’s doubles event at press time.

“We are under very unique circumstances so having friends, and just on a personal level for me, I really value friendships. It’s nothing to do with being a player,” Eala said in a post-game conference.

“Iva is such a good friend of mine but I think the difficult part comes in knowing that not both of us are going to advance and, of course, as friends, you all want to kind of advance together. In terms of actually competing against each other as competitors, I think we’re very accustomed to it and we’re all professionals, so everything was prepared in the same way that you would in any other Slam.”

Jovic, who played alongside Eala in the women’s doubles of the BNP Paribas Open last March, said their match was more about pushing each other to do better.

The American netter even admitted that their familiarity with each other’s game makes Eala one of her toughest opponents in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour.

“I think it was a tough one. Alex is a great player, one of the toughest first rounds, especially as a seeded player, that I could have gotten. But I hung tough when I needed to and was happy to get it done in straights,” Jovic said.

“We practiced together a ton. We played doubles together a ton. So, I think we both know our tendencies and everyone was ready for the other one. It was just about who was going to play their game a bit better that day.”

Still, Eala has two more Grand Slam competitions to prepare for in the Wimbledon Championships in Great Britain from 29 June to 12 July and the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York from 23 August to 13 September.

To prepare for Wimbledon, Eala will compete in the Queen’s Club Championships in London from 8 to 14 June following her French Open campaign.

Should Eala be available, she will also participate in the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya from 19 September to 4 October, where she will be gunning for the country’s first ever gold medal in the women’s singles event.

Eala said she is glad with her growth and development after a year of competing on the WTA Tour.

“I’m super proud of how far I’ve come. I’m confident in myself,” Eala said.

“I’m confident in how I play even through losses like this and I think that’s very important. It’s very difficult to achieve every single week, so I take that in my stride.”