“It might seem easy…” – Commentator shares an interesting take on Alex Eala’s biggest challenge at Cincinnati
Alex Eala’s serve got some really interesting attention during her win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse at the Cincinnati Open.
The 21-year-old faced Ruse in the Round of 64 at the WTA 1000 event, winning the first set 6-1 before her opponent had to retire while down 3-0 in the second. Alex won nine out of the ten games in just one hour and will now take on world number 10 Amanda Anisimova in the next round.
Eala landed 18 out of 34 first serves, which is about 53%, but her second serve was perfect—16 out of 16. Ruse didn’t do as well, hitting 11 of 29 first serves (39%) and 15 of 17 second serves (88%). In points won, Eala did great, winning 67% on her first serve and 69% on her second, compared to Ruse’s 45% and 18%.
Even though Eala lost her first service game, she quickly took control and won nine games straight. The match ended early after Ruse hurt her ankle and had to retire, right after a brief medical break and a rain delay.
Rick Macci, famous for coaching Serena Williams, had said earlier this week that Eala’s serve was “incorrectly taught” when she was younger. He explained that the timing and leg drive weren’t quite right, and while she’s smooth and relaxed, some parts of her serve could use fixing.
But during the match, the commentators offered a different view, highlighting how tricky Eala’s spin can be, especially on fast courts like hardcourts and grass. The spin makes her serve hard to return, even if it looks easy on TV. Right after the comment, Ruse missed a slow second serve with strange spin by hitting it into the net.
They also mentioned Alex’s recent big win over Naomi Osaka in Washington, where her serve caused problems for Osaka, who couldn’t figure out where to stand when returning. Eala won that match 6-4, 6-2 and went on to win her first WTA singles title at that event.
Now, Alex Eala will play again in Cincinnati tomorrow, aiming to win her first WTA 1000 title.