Eala who is Wimbledon No. 29 will face Zarazua of Mexico in the first round
ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA has never been good at this Slam right now at Wimbledon.
And with plenty of confidence after an impressive build-up, the 21-year-old has high hopes of finally making it, especially as the first-ever Filipina to be singled in Grand Slam history.
“Who would have thought that at the age of 21 I would be seeded at Wimbledon?” said Ms. Eala, the No. 29 seed, during Wimbledon’s press day ahead of her Round 1 match against Mexico’s Renata Zarazua, the WTA No. 75, at press time.
Mrs. Eala, who came from the qualifiers and wild cards in previous years, qualified for the main event of the Grand Slams last year after breaking into the WTA Top 100.
In just over a year, he has already come a long way after returning to the world’s Top 30, thanks to a 9-3 record in the build-up to an impressive grass-court season marked by a title in Birmingham and a Final Four in Berlin. He rose to the top due to the withdrawal of world number 10 Victoria Mboko of Canada due to a knee injury.
And to Ms. For Eala, that run should be reason enough to bolster her belief that she can finally get over the first-round hump at the Grand Slams, after early exits at the Australian Open and Roland Garros this year.
“I think you really need to have the mindset, especially in the Slam, that you can beat anyone. But then you need to remember that anyone can beat you. So it goes both ways,” added Ms. Eala, who trained for the last time with good friend Eva Lys from Germany and her father Michael on D-Day, after proving it with a big win against No.
“I like to say that tennis is a gladiator game, right? So, I think I come to Wimbledon playing well. So the best I can do is go out there, give it my all, and see where that takes me.”
As the confidence of Ms. Eala, the technical experts screamed for a win in the opening round to set up a grand final with former world number 1 and 23rd Slam champion Serena Williams of the United States in her tennis comeback after four years. Ms Williams was to play her Round 1 match against WTA No. 87 Maya Joint on Tuesday.
Apart from the singles, Ms. Eala will also meet Nikola Bartunkova of Czechia (WTA No.
Mrs. Williams, along with her sister Venus, also a former world No. 1, is also in the doubles wildcard group.
The pressure on Ms. The threat of a first-round exit widened again on Tuesday as Wimbledon kicked off with historic victories for a trio of Southeast Asian players in Indonesia’s Janice Tjen, and Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew and Lanlana Tararudee.
Mrs. Sawangkaew, WTA No. 164, pulled off a major upset by knocking out French Open finalist and No. 20 Maja Chwalinska of Poland in a comeback, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Ms. Tjen, WTA No. 42, stunned No. 22 seed Filipina-Canadian Leylah Fernandez of Canada, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) before Nk. Tararudee, WTA No. 99, defeating 82 Lilli Tagger, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4
But Ms. Eala is not eager to stand out – both in singles and doubles – with the mantra of playing as a beginner, raw and unranked as he has done in previous years.
“There are no handouts here. So, every match will be difficult. I’m very focused. I think I can say that I’m playing well. I feel confident. I think I’ve been putting in the work, that’s true. But it’s also a Slam, everyone is willing to get it. So I’m ready,” he vowed. – John Bryan Ulanday
