BUTUAN CITY – Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala saw her Wimbledon debut come to an end after a spirited effort against defending champion Barbora Krejcikova, who pulled off a 6-3, 2-6, 1-6 comeback win Tuesday evening (Manila time) at Centre Court.
Eala impressed early, rallying from a 1-2 deficit to take the first set, 6-3, and came within a set of a major upset.
But Krejcikova, shaking off injury concerns from last week’s Lexus Eastbourne Open, found her rhythm in the next two sets—breaking Eala’s momentum with aggressive baseline play and sharp shot selection to dominate the match.
Despite the loss, the 20-year-old Eala earned high praise from Krejcikova, who lauded the Filipina’s fearless start and potential, calling her “the next generation” of women’s tennis. “What the hell she played in the first set.
She was smashing the ball and cleaning the lines,” Krejcikova said.
Eala’s Wimbledon journey isn’t over yet, as she’s set to compete in the doubles division with Germany’s Eva Lys. The pair will face Serbia’s Olga Danilovic and Russia’s Anastasia Potapova on Wednesday (Manila time).
