Alex Eala will still be on a high from her time at the Berlin Open, where she enjoyed a superb run to the semifinals.
Unseeded at the WTA 500 tournament in Germany, Eala knocked out Donna Vekic, Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina.
Her dream run was finally ended by Linda Noskova, which continued a very tricky time for the Filipina superstar against Czech opponents.
Somewhat of a concern, the youngster now finds herself with a 1-14 win-loss record against Czech players throughout her career.
But if recent comments from tennis legend Serena Williams are anything to go by, Eala can take heart despite her nightmare record.
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Alex Eala can take heart from recent Serena Williams comments
Recently making her comeback to tennis after a break of almost four years, the American teamed up with Victoria Mboko at Queen’s.
But she switched partners shortly after for Berlin, where Williams played doubles with Karolina Muchova, the highest-ranked Czech player on the WTA Tour.
Laughing, she said of that decision in Germany: “The Czech players have given me nothing but trouble in my career.
“If you can’t beat them, join them.”
It was a light-hearted but honest assessment from the legendary figure, who largely troubled opponents throughout her stunning career, rather than the other way around.
Moreover, while Eala suffered another loss to such players, she did finally manage to end her unwanted run last month.
The 21-year-old went all the way at the Birmingham Open, where she produced a fine physical and mental final victory over Czech player Nikola Bartunkova.
Fittingly, Williams is an inspiration to Eala, and so the latter is very likely to take motivation from the former any way she can.
Karolina Muchova and Linda Noskova lead Czech WTA talents
A long list of iconic Czech players have come and gone over the years, across both the women’s and men’s games.
And that includes legendary names such as Martina Navratilova, Ivan Lendl and Petra Kvitova, to name a few.
Jakub Mensik and Jiri Lehecka are currently impressing on the ATP Tour, with the same to be said of the likes of Muchova and Noskova on the WTA Tour.
| Rank | Player | Age |
| 10 | Karolina Muchova | 29 |
| 13 | Linda Noskova | 21 |
| 27 | Marie Bouzkova | 27 |
| 34 | Katerina Siniakova | 30 |
| 39 | Barbora Krejcikova | 30 |
| 47 | Sara Bejlek | 20 |
| 49 | Marketa Vondrousova | 26 |
| 62 | Nikola Bartunkova | 20 |
| 63 | Tereza Valentova | 19 |
| 87 | Karolina Pliskova | 34 |
And while Eala’s battles with such players won’t define her success, she will likely need to start defeating Czech opponents more often.
Now, however, her attention turns to Belgium’s Elise Mertens, who she meets in her opening match of the Bad Homburg Open.
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