Alex Eala confirmed her place in the third round of the Cincinnati Open, but not in the way she would have liked to.
Eala was a set and 3-0 up on Elena-Gabriela Ruse when the Romanian star was forced to retire from the match with an injury, awarding the star her 11th win in 13 matches since Wimbledon.
The 21-year-old will now advance to the third round, where she will play Amanda Anisimova, but she took the time to send her departed opponent a message following the match.
Eala appeared in The Tennis Channel studios following her latest victory, and she began the interview by praising Ruse after her injury.
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“Like you said, I think it’s unfortunate that we weren’t able to continue the match and, first and foremost, just wish Gabby a speedy recovery,” said the Filipina star.
“Health is, I think, number one priority for everybody. So, hope she gets better soon,” she continued, before assessing her own performance in the match.
I think I played really well,” she explained. “I think I found my groove and I was able to hold that until I guess the end of the match. So, really happy with it. Yeah.”
Eala and Anisimova are set for their very first clash on the WTA Tour and it continues the Filipina’s nightmare draw at the Cincinnati Open this year.
If Eala defeats Anisimova in Cincinnati, she will play the winner of Linda Noskova or Clara Tauson. Future opponents could also be Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, and Aryna Sabalenka.
Alex Eala’s most likely route at the Cincinnati Open
- Round One: Bye
- Round Two: Elena-Gabriela Ruse
- Round Three: Amanda Anisimova
- Round Four: Linda Noskova
- QF: Jessica Pegula
- SF: Iga Swiatek
- F: Aryna Sabalenka
However, Eala should be safe in the knowledge that she is already gaining ranking points at the event and should continue to climb the rankings with a deep run.
The star did not play the Cincinnati Open last year, so she is already confirmed to pick up ranking points by reaching the third round of the competition.
In the live WTA Tour rankings currently, Eala is up to world No 18, although that could change with the results of the Masters tournaments in the coming days.
Eala has surpassed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who exited the competition at the round of 64 stage, and Jasmine Paolini, who withdrew from the tournament with injury at the beginning of the week.
Eala is just 18 ranking points behind Sorana Cirstea in 17th place, although the Romanian star is still in the competition. In fact, the pai could meet in the quarter finals of the tournament.
