Alex Eala is bracing for a tough battle when she faces world No. 69 Nikola Bartunkova of the Czech Republic in the Birmingham Open women’s event final in England.

The 21-year-old Eala said she expects nothing less from the 20-year-old Bartunkova after playing together in the doubles event of this prestigious Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 125 tournament that serves as a warm-up tournament for the Wimbledon Championship from 29 June to 12 July.

Eala and Bartunkova, however, suffered an early exit after losing to home bets Harriet Dart and Maia Lumsden, 4-6, 6-2, 11-9, in the Round of 16. They are clashing in the final of the singles event at press time.

“I think today was a great test and I’ll be ready for tomorrow. I’ve practiced with Nikola a lot and I think she’s a great player,” said Eala, who is coming off a hard-fought 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over No. 132 Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland in a grueling semifinal battle that was almost interrupted by heavy rains.

“It was a really close match that we had in doubles and I think we got along quite well. So it’s really nice to be able to play her in the final and I’m sure it will be a great match.”

Against Masarova, Eala said she had to keep her guard up the entire match as they were facing the threat of the match getting postponed.

“Really happy with the win today. It was such a great experience,” Eala said.

“It was such a tough battle today. You’ll never know what’s gonna happen. Rebeka played really well, and she put me in tough spots.”

Should Eala win, it will be her second WTA 125 title since dominating the Guadalajara Open in Mexico last September. It will also break Eala’s Czech curse as she lost 13 times to players from the Czech Republic since starting her professional career in 2020.

Regardless of what happens, Eala is expected to climb again in the WTA rankings for making it to the final round of the Birmingham Open.