Sawt Falasteen - Krejcikova ready for Wimbledon title defence after injury scare

Krejcikova's Wimbledon participation was plunged into doubt when she pulled out of the warm-up event at Eastbourne on Thursday.

The 29-year-old withdrew before playing Varvara Gracheva in the quarter-finals after initially sustaining the injury on Wednesday during her second-round victory over Jodie Burrage.

But after resting for several days, Krejcikova is confident the injury will not be an impediment to her bid to retain the Venus Rosewater Dish.

"I had to have a couple of days off where I didn't really play any tennis but I did some off-court stuff. I've been feeling every day a little bit better, so I'm really happy with that," she told reporters at the All England Club on Sunday.

"I hope by Tuesday everything is going to be fine. I hope I'm going to have a nice match and a great tournament."

Krejcikova will start her All England Club campaign against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines in the first round on Centre Court on Tuesday.

Eala made history by becoming the first Filipina to reach a WTA final with her run to the Eastbourne title match on Saturday.

The 20-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough run to the Miami Masters semi-finals in March and Krejcikova is relishing the chance to test herself against an emerging star.

"To be honest, I don't really know that much about her yet because she's obviously a young player, an upcoming player, and one of the players of the new generation," she said.

"I know that she was doing quite well at the first half of the year. It's going to be a great matchup. I'm looking forward to see where the young generation is."

- 'A mix of emotions' -

Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Slam winner, hopes being back at Wimbledon can provide a welcome lift after a difficult year.

The world number 16 has endured a rough ride since defeating Italy's Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon final 12 months ago.

Krejcikova lost in the second round of the recent French Open and also missed January's Australian Open with a back injury, which kept her sidelined until May and has restricted her to just six matches this year.

She made a poor start to the grass-court season with a shock loss against Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova in the Queen's Club first round before her premature Eastbourne exit.

"It's actually very nice to be here and to play, even after all the time I was out," she said.

"I'm enjoying it. I'm happy to be here. I find it tough, complicated, but I don't find it difficult."

Asked how she will feel playing on Centre Court for the first time since the final, Krejcikova said: "It feels great. Definitely I grew up since then.

"I feel very happy and really, let's say, privileged that I can go from this position into the tournament.

"It's going to be a mix of all the emotions but I think most of them are going to be very positive."

Krejcikova's maiden Grand Slam triumph came at the 2021 French Open, but winning on the iconic lawns of south-west London was an even more memorable experience.

"Everything was amazing," she said. "It was like a fairytale, winning the match point and looking at the box. Very special.

"I couldn't really believe that they were giving the trophy to me."

L.AbuTayeh--SF-PST