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| Although falling short eventually, Alex Eala pushing Barbora Krejcikova to three sets was already impressive enough. AP |
MANILA--Alex Eala came just close to a huge stunner but still fell short against defending Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova as the latter prevailed in three sets, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, in their first-round matchup on Tuesday at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London.
Eala surprised Krejcikova with a brilliant first set as the Filipina ace raced to a 5-2 lead before finishing the set in nine.
However, Krejcikova dominated the last two sets to complete the reverse sweep.
Despite the defeat, Eala showed that the future looks bright for her as she won a set for the first time in the women's singles division of a Grand Slam event.
Eala will return on Thursday as she teams up with German tennister Eva Lys in a women's doubles showdown against the pair of Olga Danilovic and Anastasia Potapova.
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