Alex Eala continued her historic Wimbledon run after defeating world No. 87 Maya Joint of Australia, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0, in the second round of the premier grass court tournament.

The victory served as sweet revenge for the 21-year-old Eala, who lost to the 20-year-old Joint in the Eastbourne Open final last year.

Ranked 32 in the world, Eala, a product of the Rafael Nadal Academy, joined tennis legends Felicisimo Ampon and Raymundo Deyro as the only Filipinos to reach the third round at Wimbledon.

She also joined Southeast Asian Games silver medalist Mananchaya Sawangkaew of Thailand as the only Southeast Asian players still in contention in the year’s third Grand Slam.

Eala will face world No. 3 Iga Swiatek of Poland on Saturday. Match time has yet to be announced.

It will be the third meeting between the two after Eala stunned Swiatek in the Miami Open quarterfinals last year before the Polish star gained revenge in the Madrid Open Round of 64 last May.

By reaching the third round, Eala secured £185,000, or roughly P15.2 million, in prize money.

A victory over Swiatek would send her to the Round of 16, the farthest any Filipino has advanced at Wimbledon.

Eala also sought a strong showing in the women’s doubles, partnering with Nikola Bartunkova of the Czech Republic in a Round of 64 match against world No. 31 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and world No. 104 Sofia Kenin of the United States as of press time.

She is seeking her first Grand Slam women’s doubles victory since turning professional in 2020.