As she crushed competition during her first match in the said tournament.
On Saturday, August 15 (local time), Filipina tennis star Alex Eala competed in her first in the Cincinnati Open in Ohio, USA.
Seeded no. 17, Eala earned a first round bye in the WTA 1000 tournament and set up her first match against Romanian player Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the Round of 64.
The match saw a reinvigorated world no. 20, who dominated the first set with a poweful winning streak in five consecutive games to win the set.
In the succeeding set, Ruse would request for a medical timeout as Eala continued her streak from the opener. However, the game would later have to be suspended due to a lightning warning, prompting the scoreline to settle at 3-0 before the suspension.
However, amid the break, the Romanian had ultimately retired and handed the Filipina a walkover.
Up next for Eala is world no. 10 Amanda Anisimova.
Prior to the Cincinnati Open, Alex had a great showing across several tournaments this year, which started with her winning a WTA 125 trophy at the Birmingham Open in United Kingdom.
She would also make a historic four-round appearance at the Wimbledon Championships, where she also became the first Filipina to be ever seeded (at no. 29) in a Grand Slam event.
At the Mubadala DC Open in Washington, D.C., she also had a clean winning streak that landed her her first-ever WTA 500 trophy.
