Alex Eala takes heart from encouraging ‘dream debut’ at Wimbledon
Alex Eala’s Wimbledon debut may have ended in defeat, but the trailblazing star’s Centre Court suggested she will be back contending for many years to come.
The Filipina was handed a daunting draw in the form of reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova, but more than held her own against one of the leading players of this era.
Watching Eala in any match, it’s clear that she reads the game incredibly well for someone so young, and so comparatively still inexperienced.
That only becomes more obvious in person, where you can appreciate how quick her footwork is and how sharp she is when it comes to choosing where to direct her shot.
Of course, this is also a strength of Krejcikova’s, whose two Grand Slam singles titles have not come through a solid base of power, like many of her contemporaries.
It is her guile, her ability to disrupt and dislodge her opponents, and her ability to pick up her opponent’s motions of play that have been key to her success.
For a while on Tuesday, it looked as if the former world No 2 had met her match against Eala, who rallied from an early break down to claim the opener.
But it was the reigning champion who ultimately pulled through, prevailing 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 to start her title defence with victory.
“This match is my dream match, my dream debut,” said Eala in press, despite her loss.
“First Wimbledon main draw in Centre Court against the defending champion. It was such a pleasure for me to share the court with her.
“I think even though the second two sets, the scores were quite far, I think I had my chances. I think I did have chances, especially later on in the end, so start of the sets and ends of the sets.
“It’s just that I think she showed her composure, she showed her skill. She stepped up when she needed to in the important moments, and in the end that’s why she got away.
“I think in the first set I was able to kind of like dominate her a little bit in certain moments. In the end I think it was just one break.
“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 consistently, partly I guess because I wasn’t making her uncomfortable maybe or also because obviously she’s very skilful.
“Credit is due. Give credit where credit is due. And obviously I just need to look at my side and what I need to improve going on.”
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Win or lose, this was always going to be a historic day for the 20-year-old.
The Filipina is now the first woman from her nation to play a main draw match at Wimbledon, just weeks after becoming the first player from her nation to contest a Grand Slam match at Roland Garros.
Ranked at a career-high of 56th in the WTA Rankings after reaching her first WTA final in Eastbourne last week, she is also the only Filipina to ever be ranked inside the top 100 of the WTA Rankings.
Eala is already a trailblazer for her nation, and it is fitting that this was celebrated in her historic Grand Slam bow.
The 20-year-old revealed on social media before the match that she had received a replica of a sampaguita flower from Nike, and, when asked by Tennis365, Eala revealed how touching that gesture had been.
“This is so special for me,” commented Eala.
“First of all, to just have something that reminds me of where I come from, of my country, and my culture out there on court, because I feel like that’s what makes me special – where I come from.
“So the flower is the national flower of the Philippines. It’s called the sampaguita. The whole idea behind it is it’s kind of you reap what you sow, or what’s sown will be reaped.
“That was kind of the whole message was to have something, a piece of home with me on such an iconic court.”
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