Just two Australians remain in the singles draw at Wimbledon after Maya Joint was unable to replicate the performance that eliminated Serena Williams in the opening round.
While Alex de Minaur marched into the third round alongside Daria Kasatkina, the Michigan-born Joint wasn’t so lucky, despite starting brilliantly, going down to Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 in a nearly two-hour clash.
Joint began in the same manner she’d finished against Williams, hitting the ball cleanly and silencing the throng of Filipino supporters in attendance.
Unlike Williams, Eala, 21, grew stronger as the match wore on and Joint could not take control in the third set like she did against the 44-year-old American.
The second frame is where it slipped for Joint, with her unforced error count and first serve percentage letting Eala back into the match.
And with that, the crowd came to life and the task grew harder as Eala came home strong, taking the final nine games without response from the Australian.
“I really had to dig deep after Maya came out on fire, she came out ready,” beamed Eala as she addressed the cheering crowd.
“She is coming off an amazing win against Serena. She played really well and handled herself really well in that situation, so congratulations to Maya.”
Speaking to Stan Sport, Joint said she needed to find consistency with her game.
“I had a pretty good first set, I had a strong game plan going in, and I think I executed that pretty well in the first set,” Joint said.
“Alex started playing a bit better. She was being a bit more aggressive. I was not quite hitting my spots on serve, and she took advantage of that.
“I didn’t really adjust from that. I kind of got a bit hesitant.”
She added: “This tournament’s been one of the best experiences of my life, and it’s the first I’ve ever gotten here, and first time playing on centre court.
“So there’s a lot of positives to take from this tournament, so I’m happy.”
Elsewhere, James Duckworth and Kim Birrell were defeated, leaving Alex de Minaur and Daria Kasatkina as the only remaining Aussies in the singles draw.
De Minaur needed just one hour 49 minutes to see off the 38-year-old left-hander Adrian Mannarino.
He will face American Zachary Svajda next.
“I’m very happy with a very clean performance today. I think going in, it was a very tricky match-up, and I did what I needed to do,” said de Minaur.
“There were some tough moments here and there, but I thought my serve got me out of trouble in certain key moments.
“I just love it here and I’m hoping I can stay here for a long time.”