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India Today
13-07-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Rafael Nadal Academy star joins historic club with maiden Wimbledon title
16-year-old Ivan Ivanov became only the second Bulgarian in the history of Wimbledon to win the grass court title. On Sunday, July 13, the teenager defeated Ronit Karki of the United States to win the boys' singles title. The sixth seed didn't drop a set and won the match 6-2, who trains at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, is only one of the two Bulgarian players along with Grigor Dimitrov to win a Grand Slam junior singles title. Before Ivanov, the last Bulgarian boy to reach a junior Grand Slam singles final was Grigor Dimitrov at the 2008 US in 2008, Dimitrov won the Wimbledon boys singles title after beating Henri Kontinen 7-5, 6-3. Against Karki, Ivanov was at his very best as he didn't face a single break point and finished off the match in 57 minutes. En route to his title, Ivanov also avenged his defeat to Germany's Max Schonhaus, beating him 7-6(7), 7-6 (5) in the semis. Schonhaus had beaten Ivanov in the French Open is currently the highest-ranked player under 17 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, sitting at World No. 798. Fellow 16-year-old Cruz Hewitt, son of former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, follows at No. far as Dimitrov is concerned, he made a heartbreaking exit from the Wimbledon men's singles. In the pre-quarterfinals, Dimitrov retired midway from his match after an unfortunate pectoral was leading the match 6-3, 7-5 and was on the verge of history as he was about to enter the Wimbledon quarters after a whopping ten years, but fate had other plans for him.- Ends
7NEWS
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova spots Aussie megastar Cate Blanchett in Royal Box during match
Reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova has revealed her primary motivation for winning her opening match wasn't necessarily to get through to the second round. 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.
NBC Sports
01-07-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Defending champ Barbora Krejcikova comes back to beat Alexandra Eala of the Philippines
Barbora Krejcikova needed a comeback to avoid becoming the second consecutive Wimbledon women's champion to lose in the first round a year later at the All England Club, eventually eliminating 56th-ranked Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 at Centre Court on Tuesday. From the start of the Open era in 1968 through 2023, only one reigning women's champ was defeated in the first round at Wimbledon: Steffi Graf in 1994. But it happened last year to Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic — whose title in 2023 made her the first unseeded woman to leave the All England Club with the singles trophy — and there were moments early Tuesday that it appeared it might happen again this year to the 17th-seeded Krejcikova, another Czech player and the French Open champion in 2021. Eala is a 20-year-old left-hander who was competing at a Grand Slam tournament for only the second time. She lost in the first round at Roland-Garros in May. Eala is the only woman representing the Philippines to compete in the main draw of Wimbledon in the Open era. She signed with an agent when she was just 13 and honed her tennis skills at the Rafael Nadal Academy, getting advice from the 22-time major title winner who retired at the end of last season. Eala was seeking what would have been her fourth top-20 victory of 2025. She grabbed attention at the Miami Open by getting past 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former No. 1 and five-time major champ Iga Swiatek en route to the semifinals. Last week, Eala again defeated Ostapenko at the grass-court Eastbourne Open along the way to reaching the final there. Krejcikova, who is 29, made it to the quarterfinals at Eastbourne before withdrawing from that tournament because of an issue with her right thigh. She started slowly Tuesday, making 19 unforced errors in the first set. But Krejcikova cleaned up her play and had a total of 18 the rest of the way, often leaning forward with a clenched fist and a yell to celebrate points that moved her closer to the win.
01-07-2025
- Sport
Wimbledon: Defending champ Barbora Krejcikova comes back to beat Alexandra Eala of the Philippines
LONDON -- LONDON (AP) — Barbora Krejcikova needed a comeback to avoid becoming the second consecutive Wimbledon women's champion to lose in the first round a year later at the All England Club, eventually eliminating 56th-ranked Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 at Centre Court on Tuesday. From the start of the Open era in 1968 through 2023, only one reigning women's champ was defeated in the first round at Wimbledon: Steffi Graf in 1994. But it happened last year to Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic — whose title in 2023 made her the first unseeded woman to leave the All England Club with the singles trophy — and there were moments early Tuesday that it appeared it might happen again this year to the 17th-seeded Krejcikova, another Czech player and the French Open champion in 2021. Eala is a 20-year-old left-hander who was competing at a Grand Slam tournament for only the second time. She lost in the first round at Roland-Garros in May. Eala is the only woman representing the Philippines to compete in the main draw of Wimbledon in the Open era. She signed with an agent when she was just 13 and honed her tennis skills at the Rafael Nadal Academy, getting advice from the 22-time major title winner who retired at the end of last season. Eala was seeking what would have been her fourth top-20 victory of 2025. She grabbed attention at the Miami Open by getting past 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former No. 1 and five-time major champ Iga Swiatek en route to the semifinals. Last week, Eala again defeated Ostapenko at the grass-court Eastbourne Open along the way to reaching the final there. Krejcikova, who is 29, made it to the quarterfinals at Eastbourne before withdrawing from that tournament because of an issue with her right thigh. She started slowly Tuesday, making 19 unforced errors in the first set. But Krejcikova cleaned up her play and had a total of 18 the rest of the way, often leaning forward with a clenched fist and a yell to celebrate points that moved her closer to the win. ___
Winnipeg Free Press
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Wimbledon: Defending champ Barbora Krejcikova comes back to beat Alexandra Eala of the Philippines
LONDON (AP) — Barbora Krejcikova needed a comeback to avoid becoming the second consecutive Wimbledon women's champion to lose in the first round a year later at the All England Club, eventually eliminating 56th-ranked Alexandra Eala of the Philippines 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 at Centre Court on Tuesday. From the start of the Open era in 1968 through 2023, only one reigning women's champ was defeated in the first round at Wimbledon: Steffi Graf in 1994. But it happened last year to Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic — whose title in 2023 made her the first unseeded woman to leave the All England Club with the singles trophy — and there were moments early Tuesday that it appeared it might happen again this year to the 17th-seeded Krejcikova, another Czech player and the French Open champion in 2021. Eala is a 20-year-old left-hander who was competing at a Grand Slam tournament for only the second time. She lost in the first round at Roland-Garros in May. Eala is the only woman representing the Philippines to compete in the main draw of Wimbledon in the Open era. She signed with an agent when she was just 13 and honed her tennis skills at the Rafael Nadal Academy, getting advice from the 22-time major title winner who retired at the end of last season. Eala was seeking what would have been her fourth top-20 victory of 2025. She grabbed attention at the Miami Open by getting past 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former No. 1 and five-time major champ Iga Swiatek en route to the semifinals. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Last week, Eala again defeated Ostapenko at the grass-court Eastbourne Open along the way to reaching the final there. Krejcikova, who is 29, made it to the quarterfinals at Eastbourne before withdrawing from that tournament because of an issue with her right thigh. She started slowly Tuesday, making 19 unforced errors in the first set. But Krejcikova cleaned up her play and had a total of 18 the rest of the way, often leaning forward with a clenched fist and a yell to celebrate points that moved her closer to the win. ___ AP tennis:
