TENNIS: Alex Eala beats Romania's Ruse, advances to Cincinnati Open round of 32

MANILA – Seventeenth seed Alex Eala marched to the next round of the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open after beating Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse early Sunday morning (Philippine time).

The Filipino tennis star was leading, 6-1, 3-0, when Ruse retired with an ankle injury during their second-round at the Tony Trabert Stadium 3.

Eala will next face No. 9 seed Amanda Anisimova, who prevailed over Zeynep Sonmez 6-2, 6-3.

"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," the 21-year-old Eala said during the post-match press conference.

"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," added Eala, who lost to Ruse, 6-3, 1-6, 1-4, in their first meeting at the 2024 US Open qualifiers.

Eala defeated world No. 3 Jessica Pegula of United States, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, to claim her first WTA 500 title at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington two weeks ago.

She also won the WTA 125 Guadalajara Open in Mexico over Hungary’s Panna Udvardy 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, last year. (PNA)