Rising star from the Philippines Alexandra “Alex” Eala was eliminated in the first round in her debut at Wimbledon on Tuesday, but she gave the defending women’s champion Barbora Krejcikova a scare, who had to power back from a set down to beat the Filipina.

Krejcikova, seeded 17th in her title-retention campaign and ranked No. 16 in the world, gallant fought back from the opening-set loss while nursing a thigh injury that forced her to withdraw from the Eastbourne Open semifinals just days earlier.

Photo: @alex.eala instagram Filipina tennis trailblazer takes a set off defending champion Krejčíková LONDON — History was made on Centre Court as Alexandra “Alex” Eala became the first Filipina in