AS Alexandra “Alex” Eala has honed her skills in an incredible Wimbledon run, she still has one more arsenal to build on in her quest to reach the top, including one day winning a Slam.
And for tennis world champions and former world champions, Ms. Eala, noting that all the Slam kings and queens who preside over the game have learned the art and science of serving.
“His serve. Too much puffball. (Iga) Swiatek didn’t handle it well, but (Jasmine) Paolini did it. He was attacking the second serve. But even the first serve was like 80, 85. He could hit 105, but he doesn’t,” said the Czech-American icon and former world No.
The 69-year-old legend, with 18 Grand Slam singles, 31 doubles and 10 doubles crowns, served as one of the commentators for Wimbledon, where the number 29 seed Ms. Eala made history in Philippine tennis, but failed against No. Round 16.
He noticed the good movement of the feet and the speed of Ms. Eala and his ability to fight and finish but he works, especially as a lefty, he is not fully equipped yet as he switches to the rotation of the hard court of North America leading to the US Open, the fourth and last major season, on Aug. 30 to Sep.
“She makes her way to the net, and she can finish there. If you don’t have the power to finish from the baseline, you better be able to go to the net and finish. And she did that. She needs to change her grip and use her leftyness more. She wasn’t cutting,” added Ms. Navratilova, who reigned as the No.
Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000, Mrs. Navratilova also holds the record for the most combined major titles (59) and WTA pro titles (167) in her decorated career, making her the perfect woman to mentor Ms. Eala, who is now seen as one of the next on the list of world tennis stars.
Greg Rusedski, the former No. 1 of Britain, went on the advice of Mrs.
“The job needs to be a weapon where I can get the first strike after serving,” said Mr. Rusedski, the 15-year-old ATP champion and world No. 4, on the Off Court Cuts podcast. “He has the knowledge to mix it, but he needs more precision and more power, and that will come later.”
It was Mr. Rusedski also highlighted a deep Wimbledon run for Ms Eala ahead of the tournament, especially after her strong grass build-up to the title in Birmingham and the semi-final in Berlin, where she stunned world No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and No. 8 Elina Svitolina from Ukraine.
At the beginning of that, Ms. Eala bravely became the first Filipina to reach milestones in only one Wimbledon campaign: the first Filipina seeded player in Grand Slam history, the first Filipina to win Wimbledon and the first to reach the third and fourth rounds of a major respectively.
Her Wimby march included an earth-shaking 7-6(11-9), 6-2 upset of reigning champion and world No. 3 Ms. Swiatek from Poland who made headlines around the world and drew reactions and praise from Catherine, Princess of Wales, Billie Jean King, Venus Williams and the hero of Ms. Hello Sharava.
And Mr. Rusedski believes that there is no other way for Mrs. Eala – especially under the wings of the Spanish legend Rafael Nadal – went up from here, even saying that Wimbledon could be the Ms. Slam. Eala can finally win on the road.
“For me, the first Filipino to be in the fourth round of a major player, male or female, this will not be his last fourth round. He is in the mold of Rafael Nadal, and I like him. He is a great competitor, good returns, good groundstrokes,” Mr. Rusedski was happy. “Wimbledon for me is his best shot to get deep into a major tournament and have a chance to win it one day.” – John Bryan Ulanday
