Alexandra Eala, the first player from the Philippines to appear in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in the Open Era, overcame a slow start against No. 31 seed Wang Xinyu of China to advance to the third round in Rome on Friday, setting up a first meeting with Elena Rybakina, who defeated Maria Sakkari in straight sets later in the day.<\/p>\n
Wang takes early lead before Eala finds her rhythm<\/p>\n
Wang, who won the pair\u2019s only previous meeting in the semifinals in Auckland earlier this year, broke Eala\u2019s serve twice to take a 3-0 lead in the opening set. But Eala soon settled into the match and began dictating play, winning six of the next seven games to claim the set 6-4.<\/p>\n
The second set began with both players exchanging breaks before Wang saved two break points to hold for a 3-2 lead. From there, Eala won four consecutive games to complete a 6-4, 6-3 victory in 1 hour, 26 minutes. The win leveled their head-to-head record on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz at 1-1.<\/p>\n
First WTA 1000 third-round appearance on clay<\/p>\n
Eala, who reached the semifinals in Miami last year and the quarterfinals in Dubai earlier this season, advanced to the third round of a WTA 1000 clay-court event for the first time in her career. Her previous best result in Rome or Madrid was a second-round appearance.<\/p>\n
The victory marked Eala\u2019s 16th WTA Tour match win of the 2026 season across 10 tournaments. She also owns the most wins by a left-handed player this year.<\/p>\n
Rybakina awaits in third round<\/p>\n
Next up for the 20-year-old will be Rybakina, in what will be their first meeting at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level. The World No. 2 defeated Sakkari 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach the third round.<\/p>\n
It’s Rybakina’s six win over the former World No. 3 in seven meetings and her fifth straight in the head-to-head. She is now 24-2 in completed WTA 1000 matches after winning the first set, with her only losses coming to the eventual champion — Victoria Mboko (Montreal 2025) and Aryna Sabalenka (Indian Wells 2026). She has also won 12 straight opening matches at WTA 1000 events.<\/p>\n
On Friday, the opening set stayed tight through six games before Rybakina broke for 4-3. That was all the space she needed to take the first set, which she sealed with a hold to love.<\/p>\n
The second set was all Rybakina. She feasted on Sakkari’s serve, particularly her first serve. Sakkari won just 4 of 18 first-serve points in the set, good for 22%. That dominance on return gave Rybakina nine break points, of which she converted four to cruise to the finish.<\/p>\n
The win gives Rybakina a chance to reach the Round of 16 in Rome for just the second time. The former champion is just 1-3 in third-round matches at the Internazionali d’Italia.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, history is on the line again for Eala. With a win, she would become the second woman representing an Asian country to claim a Top 5 victory at the event, joining Rybakina. She could also become the first Filipino player, man or woman, in the Open Era to reach the Round of 16 in Rome.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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