Whatever happens in the match between world No. 32 Alex Eala and world No. 3 and defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland, it is sure to go down to the last point.

For British-Canadian Greg Rusedski, the match is expected to go the distance as both Eala and Swiatek are poised to put on a show at Centre Court of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.

Both players were competing as of press time, with the winner advancing to face either world No. 17 Jasmine Paolini of Italy or Maria Sakkari of Greece in the Round of 16.

"I love those 50-50 matchups and we know probably where the crowd’s gonna be because Eala is just about the most popular player in women’s tennis. This is gonna be one of the hottest tickets in the women’s draw, this third-round matchup,” Rusedski said.

“They each know each other’s game very, very well. And she’s beaten Swiatek as well. This is her best surface. So I think this match could go either way.”

Eala and Swiatek have faced each other only twice in their singles careers, splitting their previous meetings.

The Rafael Nadal Academy graduate pulled off a stunning 6-2, 7-5 victory over Swiatek in the Miami Open in the United States last March, a breakthrough that sparked her rise in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.

It did not take long for the six-time Grand Slam champion to get her revenge, beating Eala, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, in the Madrid Open two months later.

The 25-year-old Swiatek said she cannot afford to overanalyze the matchup and instead wants to focus on her own game against Eala.

“That’s why I’m constantly trying to switch to thinking about the process, and I think it’s better, because in tennis you can’t really control everything. But for sure I’m happy with the way I have shown my consistency,” Swiatek said.

“This stat about the third round, it’s really nice and it shows that I also don’t take anything for granted. I’m ready from the first match, even though sometimes you can draw a lower-ranked player.”

By reaching the third round, Eala is assured of taking home the biggest paycheck of her career — £185,000, or roughly P15 million.

A victory over Swiatek would increase her prize money to £300,000, or around P25 million, while making her the first Filipino singles player to reach the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.

Eala has nothing but respect for Swiatek and remains determined to continue climbing the WTA rankings.

“I can’t tell the future, no, but I know and I’m sure that they are working really hard every day. You don’t become, like, a six-time, Grand Slam champion just by not working hard,” Eala said.

“I love competition. I love facing the pressure moments head-on. I love coming out of those moments stronger than I was when I entered them.”