Tenth Top 10 win beckons

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala has nine wins against Top 10 players in her young career – twice against Iga Swiatek and Elina Svitolina, and once against Madison Keys, Jasmine Paolini, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula.

And the 21-year-old Filipina is not done yet.

Eala is eyeing to add world No. 10 Amanda Anisimova of the United States to her growing list when they dispute a Round of 16 ticket in the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open today.

Barring delays like her previous match due to inclement weather, the giant-slayer Eala – the No. 17 seed, her highest in any 1000-level event – and the No. 9 seed Anisimova tangle at 8:30 a.m. (Manila time) at Stadium Court of the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

Both marched on after first-round byes as top seeds.

In her Ohio debut, Eala avenged her 2024 US Open qualifying loss to No. 74 Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania, 6-1, 3-0 (ret.), after Ruse retired in the second set of the rain-delayed match due to a foot injury. Anisimova followed suit with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Eala’s good friend, No. 50 Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey.

Eala’s win pushed her from No. 20 to a new career-high No. 18 in the WTA live rankings, with official updates still pending and a chance to climb even higher.

At stake is a Round of 16 seat against either world No. 8 and Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova of Czechia or No. 42 Clara Tauson of Denmark, whom Eala beat in her US Open main-draw debut last year.

It will be the first encounter between the two, but Eala has been in similar situations before. She is 9-4 overall against Top 10 opponents, including seven wins alone this season.

Her latest was world No. 3 Jessica Pegula, a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 comeback win in the WTA 500 Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, D.C. earlier this month for her first WTA Tour title.

Could another American be the next big fish to fry?

The Filipina pride hopes so, with an expected backing from a Filipino crowd that Anisimova is out to neutralize.