Eala shifts focus to bigger and brighter stage of Wimbledon

THERE is no rest for the weary — and wounded — as Alexandra “Alex” Eala shifts her full focus in a quick turnaround to a bigger and brighter stage of Wimbledon this week.

Still licking the wounds of a first finals heartbreak, Ms. Eala promises to get better and stronger from here starting with the clash against the sport’s giants on the tough London grass Tuesday until July 11.

Game time is still to be announced but Ms. Eala is raring to go to Centre Court for the first time ever of a major main draw against no less than reigning Wimbledon champion and world No. 17 Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic.

“This is the first. I’ll work hard to do more. Wimbledon’s next so hopefully I forget about this match soon enough,” said Ms. Eala after a three-set heartbreaker against Australia’s Maya Joint in the Lexus Eastbourne finals over the weekend.

“It’s been a crazy year so I’ll remember this week and this moment forever.”

Ms. Eala and Ms. Krejcikova came from different paths in the same Eastbourne tourney, making it an intriguing battle in the Wimbledon opener.

While Ms. Eala made it all the way to the Eastbourne finale, Ms. Krejcikova pulled out in the quarterfinals against France’s Varvara Gracheva due to a thigh injury but she’s back in training over the weekend to brace for an anticipated tough title defense.

Good thing for Ms. Eala, she will have an extra motivation and momentum to bank on in a hercuelan bid to land an upset ax on the heavy favorite Czech with a new career-best ranking in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

Ms. Eala scored six wins in Eastbourne, starting from the qualifiers, to reset her previous career-best (No. 69) thrice in the past week alone.

The 20-year-old Filipina is now No. 56 with 1,041 points from No. 74 to start the week then to No. 68 and No. 64 in three straight days at Eastbourne.

She could have barged inside the Top 50 and delivered the country’s first-ever WTA title if not for the stinging defeat to fellow rising star Joint, now WTA No. 41, with four championship points wasted.

And now a bigger battle awaits. — John Bryan Ulanday