Eala: I’m living the dream

Alex Eala is “living the dream” as she steps into the hallowed ground of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Centre Court for the opening round of the Wimbledon Championships women’s singles event.

The 20-year-old Eala said competing in Wimbledon is a dream come true as she has been eyeing to do it since she was a little girl.

Sitting at No. 56 in the world ranking, the Filipina sensation is battling defending champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in the first round at press time.

Her chances may be slim but the 29-year-old world No. 16 is coming off a thigh injury that forced her to pull out of her quarterfinal duel in the Eastbourne Open last week.

Still, Eala is already a winner regardless of the outcome of one of the biggest matches in her young tennis career.

“It’s such a privilege, that is the court to be on. My favorite Slam is Wimbledon and when I dreamed of the big dreams when I was younger, it was on that court,” Eala said in a report by Olympics.com.

“I’m living the dream.”

Making a deep run in the Wimbledon will be an additional feather on Eala’s cap.

Last March, Eala also made a magical performance in the Miami Open in which she beat a rock-solid cast of competitors like Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Iga Swiatek to make it to the semifinals.

Although she bowed to American Jessica Pegula in the Last Four, it was still a mission accomplished for Eala as she barged inside the world top 75, allowing her to see action in other Grand Slam events without going through the grueling qualifying phase.

With that, she made her Grand Slam debut in May in which she absorbed a 0-6, 6-2, 3-6 loss to Emiliana Arango of Colombia in the first round of the French Open in May.

A month later, Eala reached her first WTA Tour final at the Eastbourne Open but fell short after a heartbreaking 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (10-12) defeat to Maya Joint of Australia.

Still, despite having a fantastic season, Eala vows not to get carried away by her emotions and remain committed to what is in front of her.

“Tennis is always like this, it’s always the next week you always have something,” Eala said.

“Although this is on a bigger scale than what I’m normally used to, I have some experience when it comes to moving on and focusing on the next thing.”