Barbora Krejcikova battled past Alexandra Eala to reach the Wimbledon second round, beating the Filipina player in a tantalising encounter.
The defending Wimbledon champion held her nerve in the final set after some inspired tennis from Eala, triumphing 3-6 6-2 6-1.
Krejcikova was ‘looking forward’ to playing Eala and she was certainly put to the test by the youngster, who shot onto the tennis scene in March by knocking out three Grand Slam champions to reach the Miami Open semi-finals.
Eala recently reached the Eastbourne Open final after coming through qualifying, before losing a close final to Maya Joint.
After the blockbuster encounter on Tuesday afternoon, Krejcikova made a bold prediction about her 20-year-old opponent.
Barbora Krejcikova says Alexandra Eala will be ‘really good in a couple of years’
During her BBC interview after the match, Krejcikova was full of praise for Alexandra Eala. She said: “Uh, I mean, I would like to start with giving the credits to Alex. I mean, 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.
“Wow, it’s the next generation coming that she’s gonna come up and she’s gonna be really good in a couple of years.”
Eala’s future stardom is far from an unknown quantity at this stage. The 20-year-old recently reached the Eastbourne Open final after coming through qualifying, before losing a close final to Maya Joint.
Eala, who posted on Instagram saying she had a ‘date with Centre Court’ after losing the final, certainly showed her worth in front of the Wimbledon crowd on Tuesday afternoon.
Krejcikova, meanwhile, enjoyed revelling in her past glory, taking time to acknowledge the joy she felt when seeing the Venus Rosewater dish before the match.
She said: “Well, I was definitely enjoying the moment. I mean, I was really really excited for this day and then, I mean, before the match, I was really counting every minute too, to the time when the match is coming up and then when I walk from the locker room and down here, on the stairs down.
“It’s very nice and very special, a special moment, and having that opportunity that you know, that I can see my name there and that I can see the trophy and that I can just enter such a beautiful court, that is such a beautiful venue.
“It’s super, super special, and I’m really happy I can be here and I can experience this.’
Barbora Krejcikova ‘didn’t know how her career would go’ during her injury troubles
Krejcikova, the defending champion, must be given huge credit after overcoming an extremely tough test after suffering through a long period of injury.
The Czech star was absent on the WTA Tour for the first five months of 2025 due to a back injury, and she was forced to withdraw from June’s Eastbourne Open due to a thigh injury.
Speaking about her injuries, Krejcikova said:”‘I mean, definitely six months ago, it was pretty much during the Christmas and yeah, and I was in a lot of pain with my back and I didn’t really know yeah, how my career is gonna go and I’m super happy and super excited that I can be here and that I can play on such a great court.”
Krejcikova will face Caroline Dolehide or Arantxa Rus in the Wimbledon second round.
