Wimbledon defending champion Barbora Krejcíková gave credit to Alex Eala’s gallant stand in their first round meeting.
Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala has garnered the respect of Wimbledon defending champion Barbora Krejcíková after their three-set battle in the first round of The Championships at the All England Club on Tuesday.
After forcing the defending champion to the wall early with her opening set victory, 6-3, Eala faltered against the more experienced Czech in the next two sets.
[READ: Alex Eala fails to sustain strong start, drops Wimbledon opener to defending champ Krejcíková]
But Eala, albeit disappointed that she couldn’t get her maiden win in a Grand Slam main draw, earned high praise from Krejcíková. The two-time singles Grand Slam winner said as much about the 20-year-old just as she started her interview after the match.
“I would like start with giving the credit to Alex… What the hell she played in the first set. Yeah, I mean, she was smashing the ball and she was cleaning the lines and all that. So, wow. It's the next generation coming,” said Krejcíková.
“She's gonna come up and she's gonna be really good in a couple of years. So first of all, big credit, big credit to her."
Krejcíková struggled early against the Rafa Nadal Academy scholar, committing multiple double faults in a first set that saw the defending champion’s service game falter.
The 29-year-old had just recovered from a long layoff in May, and a nagging back injury had forced her to retire from Eastbourne just last week where Eala actually made it to the final before falling against Maya Joint in a thrilling three-set match.
[ALSO READ: Alex Eala succumbs to Maya Joint in her first-ever WTA final in Eastbourne Open]
For Krejcíková, being able to go toe-to-toe with Eala and come away victorious was more than just an opening day win. Rather, it gave the Czech confidence back in her fitness, especially after the whole journey she has had in the past six months.
“I mean, definitely, six months ago, it was yeah pretty much during Christmas and yeah, I was in a lot of pain with my back and I didn’t really know how my career is gonna go.” said Krejcíková.
“I’m super happy and I’m super excited that I can be here and then I can play and that I can play on such a great court,” she added.
As defending champion, Krejcíková had the honor of playing Centre Court, which also plunged Eala right smack into the spotlight in the grass courts in the UK.
While Eala has already exited the singles tournament, she is still going to compete in women’s doubles with German partner Eva Lys. They open their Wimbledon campaign on Wednesday, July 2, against Olga Danilovic and Anastasia Potapova.