By Mitch Phillips
LONDON (Reuters) -Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova survived a stiff examination from promising 20-year-old Filipina Alexandra Eala before finding her groove to triumph 3-6 6-2 6-1 on her return to Wimbledon’s Centre Court on Tuesday.
Czech Krejcikova, a shock winner as 31st seed last year and seeded 17th this time, came into the tournament short on form after a succession of injuries and initially had no answer to the confident, free-swinging Eala, who is the first woman from the Philippines to play at Wimbledon.
Eala turned 20 in May and was making her first Wimbledon appearance but she immediately looked at home in the daunting surroundings of the sport’s most iconic court.
Krejcikova forced the first break in the third game, however, Eala hit straight back, swinging her lefty forehand freely and throwing in a beautifully disguised drop shot.
She then upped the ante, holding confidently and breaking again as her two-fisted backhand came to the fore and, from 2-1 down with a break against, Eala reeled off four games in a row.
Krejcikova struggled to find any consistency and was not helped by five first-set double faults and very cautious shot choices.
The champion just about held serve after six deuces but Eala was not to be denied and served out to take the first set.
Krejcikova looked as if she had had a physical and mental reboot for the second set where she showed much more energy and found her serving range.
LIGHTWEIGHT SERVE
With Eala also starting to lose her radar and with her lightweight serve being punished, the champion swept to a 5-0 lead and took the set 6-2.
Krejcikova grabbed an early break in the third with pounding returns and though Eala had an immediate breakback opportunity, she could not take it and quickly trailed 3-0.
It was relatively straightforward from then, as a tired-looking Eala’s error-count rose and Krejcikova raced home in ever-more confident style.
Krejcikova was quick to credit her opponent.
“I mean, what the hell she played in the first set?,” she said. “She was smashing the ball and cleaning the lines, so wow, wow. She’s going to be really good in a couple of years.”
Krejcikova said she was “super happy” to even be back to defend her title after a back injury ruled her out of the Australian Open and a thigh problem curtailed her grasscourt build up.
“Definitely six months ago I was in a lot of pain with my back and I didn’t really know how my career was going to go,” she said.
“So I’m super-excited that I can be here and that I can play and that I can play on such a great court.”
She said she also took time before the match to inspect the trophy, with her name engraved from last year.
“I was definitely enjoying the moment,” she said. “Having that opportunity, that I can see my name there and that I can see the trophy and that I can just enter such a beautiful court, such a beautiful venue – it’s super, super special.”
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Ed Osmond)
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