Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova spots Aussie megastar Cate Blanchett in Royal Box during match
The 29-year-old fought back from losing the first set to win 3-6 6-2 6-1 to avoid fellow Czech Marketa Vondrousova's swift exit last year when she was the defending champ.
But none of that was front of mind for Krejcikova on match point — instead, she just wanted to impress Australian megastar Cate Blanchett in the Royal Box.
'Might have won the match point... but let's be honest, I was really just trying to impress Cate Blanchett,' Krejcikova laughed before noting she had achieved her goal.
'(!!! She clapped.)'
Blanchett sat next to Rebel Wilson for the occasion, while Russell Crowe was on the other end behind English golfer Justin Rose.
Sam Smith in commentary said it was 'extraordinarily wonderful' to see Blanchett there.
'You actually put people together who would normally never meet, it's an extraordinary setup and a hot ticket certainly,' she said.
Anne Keothavong added: 'We've got some A-list Hollywood stars mixed with the likes of Julia Donaldson, who I'm a huge fan of — she has written some incredible children's books that my children are very familiar with.'
Donaldson wrote The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom among many other books.
Krejcikova entered Wimbledon under an injury cloud after withdrawing from the Eastbourne quarter-finals with a right thigh issue.
It was the last thing she needed after missing the Australian Open — and many more tournaments — with a back injury.
'I was in a lot of pain and I didn't really know how my career's going to go,' Krejcikova said of the back problem.
'I'm super happy and super excited that I can be here and that I can play, and play on such a great court.'
Krejcikova said she was motivated seeing her own trophy in the clubhouse.
'I was definitely enjoying the moment,' she said.
'I was really excited for this day and before the match I was really counting down every minute to the match, and when I walked from the locker room it was just very nice and special having that opportunity to see my name there.'
Krejcikova started slowly against Eala with 19 unforced errors in the first set.
But she cleaned up her play and had just 18 total for the rest of the way, often willing herself to victory with a clenched fist and a yell to celebrate points that moved her closer to victory.
Eala was in just her second grand slam but loomed as a threat, having already beaten three top-20 players this year.
The 20-year-old left-hander from the Philippines honed her skills at the Rafael Nadal Academy and broke out with a run to the Miami Open semi-finals earlier this year.
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