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Alex Eala goes up in opposition to reigning champion and world No. 17 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic within the opening spherical of Wimbledon
MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala faces a tall order in her Wimbledon predominant draw debut.
Eala will go up in opposition to reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic within the opening spherical of the third Grand Slam of the 12 months set to start on June 30 in London.
Seeded seventeenth, Krejcikova returns to Wimbledon with hopes of defending the title she gained final 12 months in opposition to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
The 29-year-old Krejcikova beat Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan within the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, then outlasted Paolini, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, within the finale.
Reaching a career-high rating No. 2 in 2022, Krejcikova is presently ranked No. 17 on this planet and owns two Grand Slam crowns as she additionally dominated the 2021 French Open.
Whereas Krejcikova is a Wimbledon veteran, having reached not less than the third spherical thrice during the last 4 years, Eala makes her first look in the principle draw of the oldest tennis match on this planet.
The 20-year-old Eala almost barged into the principle draw final 12 months however fell to New Zealand’s Lulu Solar within the third spherical of the qualifiers.
However Eala has made large strides since, exhibiting promise on the grass court docket by advancing to the Eastbourne Open last with a gritty 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win over France’s Varvara Gracheva within the semifinals on Friday, June 27.
It might have been Eala and Krejcikova within the semifinals, however the Czech withdrew from her quarterfinal conflict in opposition to Gracheva because of a proper thigh difficulty.
Eala, the primary Filipina to succeed in a WTA last, will face Australia’s Maya Joint within the championship spherical on Saturday, June 28.
A victory over Joint bodes properly for Eala as she seeks to tug off an enormous upset over Krejcikova.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) enters Wimbledon as the highest seed adopted by newly topped French Open champion Coco Gauff (USA), Jessica Pegula (USA), Paolini, and Zheng Qinwen (China). – Rappler.com
