MANILA — Alexandra Eala was in commanding form as she stormed into the third round of the Cincinnati Open after Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse retired with an injury while trailing the Filipina, 6-1, 3-0, on Saturday (Sunday in the Philippines).
The 17th-seeded Eala had seized complete control of the second-round encounter before Ruse was forced to call it quits, sending the world No. 20 Filipina deeper into the WTA 1000 tournament ahead of the US Open.
After Ruse held serve to level the opening set at 1-1, Eala reeled off nine consecutive games, breaking the Romanian twice to comfortably wrap up the first set, 6-1, before immediately securing another break in the second.
The match was temporarily suspended because of lightning with Eala ahead, 6-1, 3-0. When play resumed, Ruse was unable to continue because of her injury, handing the Filipina passage to the next round.
Eala was particularly ruthless on Ruse’s serve, converting all five of her break-point opportunities. She also won 67 percent of points behind her first serve and 69 percent on her second serve.
The victory sustained Eala’s impressive run on the WTA Tour following her title triumph at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington and a Round-of-16 finish at the National Bank Open in Toronto.
The 21-year-old Filipina, ranked No. 20 in the world, entered Cincinnati as the No. 17 seed and received a first-round bye.
Eala will next face American Amanda Anisimova for a place in the next round as she continues her Cincinnati campaign, her final major tournament before the US Open./PN
