Brad Gilbert was taken aback by the sheer level of support Alex Eala received in her blockbuster third-round match with Iva Jovic at the US Open.

The clash between the two rising stars of the women’s game was perhaps the most eagerly anticipated encounter of the US Open so far, and it lived up to the hype on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In a bruising, three-hour-plus encounter, 18-year-old Jovic came back from a break down in the third set to triumph 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 on Saturday night.

When the American finally got over the line, she fell to the ground, overcome by emotion, before sharing a hug with the Filipina, who has now lost three times to Jovic this year.

Asked what it took to pull off the win, the teenager said, “It took losing my earrings, falling literally flat out on the floor, cuts on my knees, mental breakdowns. It took literally everything.”

More Alex Eala News

Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.

Despite the US Open being Jovic’s home Grand Slam, at times, it seemed like she was in downtown Manila, rather than New York.

The huge amount of support the 21-year-old Eala got from her army of fans on enemy turf was quite something to behold. And after seeing the backing Americans tend to get at the US Open, former world No 4 Gilbert was stunned at how Jovic didn’t seem to be the home favourite.

He said on the Big T podcast, “That great spirit that was played in. It was kind of surprising to see an American, you know, not have the crowd with her.

“But you know what’s so refreshing is to see two players play without scream grunting, without squawking and yelling at their box. And it was played with great sportsmanship.”

Gilbert, who coached Andre Agassi for much of his career, said it was the match of the tournament but co-host Ajla Tomljanović described it as the match of the year.

The former US Open quarter-finalist was also in awe of how these two youngsters went at it hammer and tong, and praised their “champion mentality”.

She said, “What really impressed me with Eala and Jovic… it was hard hitting from start to finish. But there were so many little momentum shifts. And you know what? Not at any point did they let up.

“Even if they lost the point, they kept going for it. And I think this is what you see when you see young players go for it under pressure. That to me is a champion mentality. So they’re never going to be really afraid of the moment.”

Jovic takes on fellow American Coco Gauff in round four on Monday.

GO DEEPER: Jim Courier makes rule change suggestion after Alex Eala & Iva Jovic’s US Open epic