Fresh off her spectacular hard-court summer run, 17th seed and World No. 20 Alexandra Eala took complete control of her second-round match against Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse at Holcim Stadium 3 before incoming rain storms forced a suspension of play at the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open.
Eala was firmly in the driver’s seat with a commanding 6-1, 3-0 (15-0) lead when Dark clouds rolled over the Lindner Family Tennis Center, halting action across the tournament grounds.
Ruse drew first blood early, snagging a break in the opening game to take a 1-0 edge. However, the response from the Filipina star was swift and punishing. Eala locked in her baseline rhythm, firing four straight games to surge ahead 4-1.
Exploiting Ruse’s mounting unforced errors, Eala earned another break to push her lead to 5-1. Coupled with the Romanian’s inconsistency and Eala’s trademark steady shot-making, the 17th seed closed out the opening set in emphatic fashion, 6-1.
Eala maintained her ruthless momentum into the second frame, securing an early break for 1-0. With Ruse unable to find her timing or return Eala’s serves effectively, the Filipina quickly consolidated for a 2-0 cushion.
Frustration began to visibly boil over for the Romanian in the third game. After opening with an ace, Ruse immediately dumped a shot into the net. Eala took advantage, sweeping the game to extend her advantage to 3-0.
During the ensuing court changeover, Ruse called for a full medical timeout to have her right ankle massaged and evaluated by trainers. Play briefly resumed with Eala taking a quick 15-0 lead on her serve before match officials officially suspended play as rain clouds swept rapidly over the venue.
This was Eala's second meeting with Ruse. Eala lost the first meeting against Ruse 6-3, 1-6, 4-6 on Aug. 22, 2024 in the final round of the US Open qualifying match.
The weather disruption hit several other ongoing second-round matches across the grounds:
• Amanda Anisimova vs. Zeynep Sönmez: Anisimova leads 6-2, 3-2.
• Kayla Day vs. Zhang Shuai: Day leads 6-2, 1-3.
• Maja Chwalińska vs. Cristina Bucșa: Chwalińska leads 6-2, 1-1.
Tournament officials will resume play once the weather clears and courts are dried.
Photo: Alex Eala talks to her coach during the break.
Comments
Share your thoughts on the above article by Dong Secuya.