Tennis greats agree — Eala needs to work on her serve
MANILA, Philippines — As many bearings as Alex Eala has sharpened in an amazing Wimbledon run, she has one untapped weapon left that's she's yet to maximize in a bid to reach greater heights, including finally winning a Slam one day.
And for tennis greats and former world champions, it's Eala's service game, noting that all of the Slam kings and queens that dominated the game have mastered the art and science of serving.
"Her serve. It’s too much of a puffball. (Iga) Swiatek didn’t handle it well, but (Jasmine) Paolini did. She was attacking the second serve. But even the first serve was like 80, 85. She can hit it 105, but she doesn’t," said Czech-American icon and former World No. 1 Martina Navratilova on Tennis Channel when asked of Eala’s specific room for improvement.
The 69-year-old legend, with 18 Grand Slam singles, 31 doubles and 10 mixed doubles crowns, served as one of the analysts for Wimbledon, where the No. 29 seed Eala etched a number of milestones for Philippine tennis only to fall short against No. 13 seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, in the Round of 16.
She noted Eala's great footwork and speed as well as her ability in counter attacking and finishing. But the Filipina’s serves, especially as a lefty, has not been armed to the fullest just yet as she transitions to the hardcourt swing of the North America leading to the US Open, the season's fourth and last major, from August 30 to September 13 in Flushing Meadows, New York.
“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 get into the net and finish. And she does that. She needs to change the grip and use the leftyness more. She was not slicing," added Navratilova, who reigned as the No. 1 women's singles and doubles player during the 70s to 80s.
Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000, 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 advise on Eala now seen as one of the next in line of global tennis stars.
Greg Rusedksi, former No. 1 British player, echoed Navratilova’s advise on the 21-year-old Filipina pride.
“The serve does need to become a weapon where she can get the first strike in after the serve," said Rusedski, a 15-time ATP champion with a career-high world ranking of No. 4, on "Off Court Cuts" podcast. "She has the knowledge of how to mix it, but she needs a bit more accuracy and a bit more power, and that will come in time.”
It was Rusedski who also projected a deep Wimbledon run for Eala way before the tournament, especially after her strong grass build-up with a title in Birmingham and a semis finish in Berlin, where she stunned World No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and No. 8 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
On the crest of that feat, Eala braved on and became the first Filipina to reach the feats in one Wimbledon campaign alone: the first Filipina seeded player in Grand Slam history, the first Filipina match-winner in Wimbledon and also 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 Iga Swiatek of Poland, which made headlines around the globe and drew reactions and praises from the likes of Catherine, Princess of Wales, Billie Jean King, Venus Williams and Eala’s super idol Maria Sharapova.
And Rusedski believes there's no way for Eala — especially under the wings of Spanish legend Rafael Nadal — to go but only up from here, even claiming that Wimbledon could be the specific Slam Eala would finally win down the road.
"For me, the first Filipino to be in the fourth round of a major, man or woman, this will not be her last fourth round. She is in the Rafael Nadal mould, and I like her. She’s a great competitor, great returns, great groundstrokes,” Rusedski beamed. “Wimbledon for me is her best shot to go deep at a major and really have a chance to win it one day.”
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