Greg Rusedski explains where Alex Eala fell short against Iva Jovic

Alex Eala and Iva Jovic produced one of the matches that attracted the most attention at this year's US Open, with both young players showing why many see them as an important part of the future of women's tennis. Their friendship was put aside for more than three hours on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Jovic eventually took a 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 victory. The 18-year-old American moved into the fourth round for the first time in New York, while Eala's run ended after another good tournament. There was very little between them for most of the night. Eala was even leading 4-2 in the deciding set, but Jovic found another level in the final part of the match and won five of the last six games. Former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski followed the match and later gave his analysis on his Off Court with Greg podcast. The episode focused largely on the two young players, with Rusedski and Kevin Palmer calling it the women's match of the year. © kostekcanu / X / Fair Use Rusedski says Jovic was more aggressive in key moments Rusedski stressed that Eala's defeat did not come because the Filipina played poorly. Instead, he felt Jovic was the player who attacked more when the deciding set reached its most important moments. 'We said this is the future of women's tennis, and Eala is the one who's been stepping up all year. I mean, she's had an incredible run, 2026, first time in the third round of the US Open. Jovic really stepped up because Eala, you know, she played well. She didn't play poorly at all. It was Jovic who went after it, was more attacking, more aggressive, especially at the end moments of that final set. And that's what made the difference fractionally. And Eala, up a break, up a chance to get a double break, you know, just couldn't capitalize there. But these are matches that happen to you as a player and they're pushing each other to the limit. So that's a huge positive.' © mapiregaladom / X / Fair Use The numbers also showed how close the contest was. There were 17 breaks of serve, while Jovic finished with 44 winners and 27 unforced errors. Eala had 34 winners compared to 33 unforced errors. Rusedski believes there is still one part of Eala's game where improvement could make a big difference in future matches. 'And I look at them, both of them really go after it. Both of them are way beyond their years mentally as well as physically. And it just shows us also with Eala how she has to keep on improving that serve. Because if she can start hitting the corners a little bit more, it allows her to get on the front foot. It doesn't allow Jovic to attack her as much. So there's still room for improvement and that's the positive. It was by far the match of the year in the women's game. It was just from start to finish, exciting, dramatic.' Jovic has now beaten Eala in all three of their meetings. She previously defeated her 6-4, 6-2 at Roland Garros and 6-2, 6-2 at Queen's before their much closer match in New York. Rusedski expects another difficult test for Jovic The American teenager does not have much time to celebrate, with Coco Gauff waiting for her in the fourth round. Jovic already produced her best Grand Slam tournament result at the Australian Open earlier this year, reaching the quarterfinals. She has also spoken about learning from difficult three-set defeats at Roland Garros and Wimbledon during the season. Rusedski believes the match against Coco will reveal even more about where Jovic currently stands. 'I don't think she's quite ready yet. I think the section starts getting harder with Gauff as well. This will be another test. 'You have a big win against Eala, you knock out the 18th player in the world, and now all of a sudden you're playing Coco, who's won in Cincinnati, who's got her mojo back. 'Can you step it up, or do you have that dip? Because after you win a night match like that at Arthur Ashe Stadium, there's usually a dip the next day. Can you bounce back mentally? We're going to learn a lot more about Jovic in the next round.' © WeAreTennisTR / X / Fair Use Gauff has reached the fourth round without dropping a set and will now meet her fellow American for a place in the quarterfinals. For Eala, the defeat ends her US Open campaign, but Rusedski stressed that there should still be many positives from the tournament. The Filipina continues to move forward after a year in which she has become one of the most followed young names on the women's Tour.