Sourced online by Tracy Cabrera
MANILA, Philippines — Filipina tennis ace Alexandra ‘Alex’ Eala appears unstoppable as she demolished her Romanian opponent Elena-Gabriela Ruse, 6-1, 3-0 (ret.), on Sunday morning (Manila time) to enter the third round of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 Cincinnati Open in Warren County’s Mason City in Ohio.
The 21-year-old from Quezon City scored a 6-1, 3-0 lead before play at the Tony Trabert Stadium 3 at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Ohio was suspended due to an approaching lightning storm.
The match, however, did not require resumption as Ruse retired due to a right foot injury, enabling Eala’s third-round entry. Ruse had taken a medical timeout before play was suspended, getting her right foot treated.
With the one-sided victory, Eala avenged her 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 loss to the Romanian standout in the United States Open third-round qualifiers two years ago.
At the post-match presser, an elated Eala enthused: “I think that I was playing well, I think I felt the ball good, was really focused and tried to keep myself in the zone; I think I did a good job of that.”
“Of course, nobody likes to finish a match with a retirement, first and foremost, I just want to wish Gabriela-Ruse a speedy recovery. Injuries aren’t fun, so I hope she recovers soon,” she added.
The match actually started with a threat from Ruse as the country’s pride dropped the first game of the match, but she later on showed her resilience and determination as she made sure to dominate her Romanian rival for the rest of the way.
Game statistics reflected Eala’s dominance, with a 68 percent (23/34) success rate in service points won and 71 percent (20/28) in return. In comparison, Ruse had 29 percent (8/28) only in service points won and 32 percent (11/34) in return.
Banking on her slow yet tricky serve, Eala, now ranked Number 20 in the world, held four of her five service games while Ruse, ranked No. 77, did not win any. Eala likewise broke all 5 of her opponent’s service games. Ruse broke the Filipino only once in 5 attempts.
Eala will next face world No. 10 Amanda Anisimova of the United States in the third round (round of 32). Their match may start at 8:30 in the morning on Tuesday, August 18 (Manila time).
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