LONDON: Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova had to fight back from a set down to move into the second round of The Wimbledon Championships.
The Czech 17th seed overcame the early scare to beat 20-year-old rising star Alexandra Eala 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, in a testing match that lasted more than two hours in the Wimbledon heat. Krejcikova, who is yet to win another title since her triumph at The All England Club 12 months ago, struggled early on after getting broken two consecutive times in the opening set.
She regained her momentum to surge through the net two sets by winning 12 out of 15 games played. By doing so, she avoided the same fate as Steffi Graf in 1994 and Marketa Vondrousova in 2024, who are the only players in the Open Era to lose their first match at the tournament as defending champions.
“I would like to give credit to Alex. What the hell did she play in the first set? She was smashing the ball, cleaning the lines and all that,” Krejcikova said afterwards.
“She’s coming up and is going to be really good in the next couple of years. Big credit to her.”
Heading into the tournament, Krejcikova suffered an injury scare (right thigh), which forced her to withdraw from an event in Eastbourne. Before this, she was also sidelined for six months due to a spinal injury and couldn’t begin her 2025 season until May. Making Wimbledon only the fifth tournament she has played this year.
“Six months ago, during Christmas, I was in a lot of pain with my back. I didn’t really know how my career was going to go,” she reflected.
“I’m super happy and super excited that I am here (at Wimbledon) and can play on such a great court.”
Krejcikova has now won 14 matches at Wimbledon, which is the most she has achieved at any Grand Slam event. She is making her fifth main draw appearance at the event.
In the next round, the Czech will take on either Arantxa Rus or Caroline Dolehide.
