Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Eala earns kind words from Krejcikova after defeat

MIXING shots with aggression and precision as the match wore on, defending Czech champion Barbora Krejcikova gave Filipina Alex Eala a textbook lesson in grass court play late Tuesday night (Tuesday afternoon), rallying to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the opening round of the Wimbledon Open in London.

After a stuttering first set, Krejcikova, seeded 17th, whose fitness was suspect after withdrawing from the Eastbourne Open quarterfinals last week, found her groove in the last two sets to dispatch the upset-conscious Eala on Center Court of the All England Lawn and Tennis Club Croquet Club.

Entering the meet at No. 16 in the world ratings, the Czech capped her empathic comeback by whipping an unreachable down-the-line backhand passing shot, roaring and pumping her left fist after beating her rival, ranked a career-high No. 56, after two hours and 10 minutes of action at the packed arena on a bright and sunny afternoon.

Among those sighted in the gallery to watch the game were Gilas Pilipinas standout Jordan Clarkson, a former Utah Jazz mainstay and now bound for the New York Knicks, and Australian star and Academy Award winner Russell Crowe.    

With the come-from-behind triumph, Krejcikova avoided being the fourth women’s singles titleholder to be eliminated in the first round, keeping her title-retention drive alive while abruptly ending Eala’s debut in the main draw of the world-renowned grass court tennis showcase.

But the two-time Grand Slam champion, who also won the French Open women’s singles in 2021, had kind words for the Filipina netter immediately after the match.

“Credit to Alex,” Krejcikova said, “what the hell she played in the first set! Smashing the ball and cleaning the lines – wow, the next generation is coming up.

“Well, definitely very happy with this win because the match was really tough. It’s a first round, so it’s obviously very difficult to enter the tournament. But I’m really happy that I got through.”

The reigning Wimbledon queen, who had been battling back pain for the previous five months, revealed that she was inspired after passing by the glass case containing the Venus Rosewater Dish – the Wimbledon championship trophy- before going onto the court.

“Six months ago, I was in a lot of pain with my back and didn’t know how my career would go. Since I got here, I’ve been counting down every minute to this match,” she said.

“Walking down from the locker room, having the opportunity to see the trophy and my name on the board was so special. Entering this beautiful court… I’m so happy to experience this again.”

Although beaten, Eala looked upbeat at the post-match interview, saying: “I think in the first set I was able to kind of like dominate her a little bit in certain moments. Then in the next two sets, I think she really did kind of step up.

“She was hitting quite close to the line, which she was doing kind of consistently. Partly, I guess, because I wasn’t making her uncomfortable, maybe or also because obviously she’s very skillful.

“Give credit where credit is due. And obviously I just need to look at my side and what I need to improve going on,” she added.

The singles won’t be the last outing of the Philippine phenom in the blue-ribbon tournament as she was set to play again today, teaming up with German Eva Lys as they take on Serbia’s Olga Danilova and Russia’s Anastasia Potapova at the start of the women’s doubles event.

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