Alex Eala made a strong start to her 2026 Cincinnati Open campaign, advancing to the third round as she was leading Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-1, 3-0 before her opponent retired early Sunday morning (Philippine time).
It was payback from the Filipina, as the Romanian took their first matchup back in the 2024 US Open qualifying round 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
The opening set began with both players trading breaks in the first two games before Eala finally held serve in the third to take an early 2-1 lead.
From there, the Filipina took control at both ends of the court, stringing together six straight games with breaks in the fourth and sixth games, while holding serve in between to race to a 6-1 opening-set victory.
Eala's dominance on return proved to be the difference, as she won 71% of points on her first-serve returns and an even more impressive 78% against second serves.
Momentum carried over in the second set, as Eala stretched her run to nine straight games to gain an early 3-0 lead. However, Ruse asked for a medical timeout after the third game to get her ankle retaped.
Once the action resumed in the fourth game, the match was suspended due to lightning, with heavy rain looming heavy rain.
Yet, when the organizers cleared that the hard courts were safe to play again, the 28-year old Ruse retired from the match due to the lingering injury she already endured.
Up next for Eala in the round of 32 is ninth seed and world No. 10 Amanda Anisimova, who beat Zeynep Sönmez 6-2, 6-3. The Filipina will now look to get her eighth win over a top-10 player this season against the American.