Tennis greats agree — Eala needs to work on her serve

AS MANY bearings as Alexandra “Alex” Eala has sharpened in an amazing Wimbledon run, she has one untapped armory left that’s yet to be maximized in a bid to reach greater heights, including finally winning a Slam one day.

And for tennis greats and former world champions, it’s Ms. 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 Ms. 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 Ms. Eala etched a number of milestones for Philippine tennis, only to fall short against No. 13 seed Ms. Paolini of Italy, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, in the Round of 16.

She noted Ms. Eala’s great footwork and speed as well as her ability in counterattacking and finishing but her serves, especially as a lefty, has not been armed to the fullest just yet as she transitions to the hard-court swing of the North America leading to the US Open, the season’s fourth and last major, on Aug. 30 to Sept. 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 Ms. 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, Ms. 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 Ms. Eala, now seen as one of the next in line of global tennis stars.

Greg Rusedski, former No. 1 British player, echoed Ms. 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 Mr. 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 Mr. Rusedski who also projected a deep Wimbledon run for Ms. Eala way before the tournament, especially after her strong grass buildup 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, Ms. 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 Ms. Swiatek of Poland that made headlines around the globe and drew reactions and praises from the likes of Catherine, Princess of Wales, Billie Jean King, Venus Williams and Ms. Eala’s super idol Maria Sharapova.

And Mr. Rusedski believes there’s no other way for Ms. Eala — especially under the wings of Spanish legend Rafael Nadal — to go but up from here, even claiming that Wimbledon could be the specific Slam Ms. 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,” Mr. 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.” — John Bryan Ulanday