ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA settled her score with Romanian ace Elena-Gabriela Ruse with an emphatic 6-1, 3-0 (ret.) win to arrange a Round 3 duel against another titan in world No. 10 Amanda Anisimova in the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open on Sunday morning at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
The match was halted temporarily due to lightning warning and cloudy weather as Ms. Ruse opted to retire upon resumption owing to a foot injury that prompted her to call a medical timeout midway through the second set.
Ms. Eala, WTA No. 20, needed only 57 minutes to announce a roaring introduction in Cincinnati after gaining a first round-bye as the No. 17 seed, her highest seeding ever in any 1000-level tour.
“First and foremost, I just wish Gabby (Ruse) a speedy recovery. Health is the No. 1 priority for everybody so I hope she gets better soon,” said Ms. Eala, who avenged her 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 loss to WTA No. 74 Ms. Ruse in the 2024 US Open qualifiers, for a good start of her final buildup to the US Open later this month in Flushing Meadows, New York.
“I think I played really well. I found my groove early and I was able to hold that until I guess the end of the match. I’m really happy with my debut.”
The 21-year-old Filipina pride did, steadying the ship right away after losing serve in the opener with a 6-0 closeout for a 1-0 set lead. It was all Ms. Eala from there, snowballing to a 3-0 gap to take command before organizers paused the match and Ms. Ruse called it quits later on.
For Ms. Eala, the roaring Filipino crowd played a huge part anew aside from her good condition after having almost a week of rest and recovery on the heels of a Round of 16 finish in the WTA 1000 National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada.
“It was an incredible atmosphere. It was so fun. This is my first time here so I didn’t know what to expect. I’m really happy with it,” said Ms. Eala, who also reunited with her parents in time for their wedding anniversary and her dad’s birthday on Monday.
And that Filipino crowd, which has been instrumental to Ms. Eala’s campaign in every stop of the WTA Tour around the world, is what the No. 9 seed Ms. Anisimova is looking forward to experiencing -and hopefully neutralizing.
It will be their first-ever encounter and the 24-year-old Ms. Anisimova, who made short work of Ms. Eala’s good pal Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey, WTA No. 50, with a 6-2, 6-3 win, is pumped up.
“I haven’t played Ms. Eala before and she’s been having such an incredible season, incredible year. Very great player with a lot of fans. I’m really looking forward to that. I know that it’s probably gonna be a very packed stadium. I’m sure it will be really fun,” the No. 9 seed beamed.
At stake for Ms. Eala in a heavyweight duel against Ms. Anisimova is an 8th straight win and 10th win overall against a Top-10 player after a stellar run against a bevy of titans in a Berlin Open Final Four run, Wimbledon Round of 16 finish and first tour title in the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open.
No less than Wimbledon champion and world No. 8 Linda Noskova of Czechia or No. 42 Clara Tauson of Denmark, whom Ms. Eala beat in her US Open main draw but last year, will be waiting in the Round of 16. — John Bryan Ulanday