![\"TENNIS-GBR-WIMBLEDON\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/tennis-gbr-wimbledon-us-player-amanda-anisimova-celebrates-beating-us-player-people-sport-horizontal.jpeg\")
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US player Amanda Anisimova celebrates beating US player Sofia Kenin during their women’s singles second round tennis match on the fourth day of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 2, 2026. (Photo by Henry Nicholls \/ AFP via Getty Images) \/ RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE<\/p>\n
Amanda Anisimova expects plenty of noise \u2014 and no shortage of interest \u2014 when she faces Alex Eala<\/a> for the first time at the Cincinnati Open<\/a>.<\/p>\n After defeating Zeynep S\u00f6nmez 6-2, 6-3 in the second round Saturday, Anisimova turned her attention toward a compelling round-of-32 matchup with one of the WTA Tour\u2019s fastest-rising players.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s been having such an incredible season, incredible year,\u201d Anisimova said<\/a> of Eala during her on-court interview. \u201cVery great player with a lot of fans. So, I\u2019m really looking forward to that.\u201d<\/p>\n The ninth-seeded American knows the atmosphere could become part of the challenge.<\/p>\n \u201cI know that it\u2019s probably going to be a very packed stadium,\u201d Anisimova said. \u201cI\u2019m sure it\u2019ll be really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n Amanda Anisimova Finds Her Rhythm Despite Rain<\/p>\n Anisimova earned her place in the third round with a composed performance against S\u00f6nmez, handling both her opponent and another weather-interrupted afternoon in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n The world No. 10 controlled the match with her first-strike tennis, preventing S\u00f6nmez from settling into extended rallies. Anisimova was especially pleased with how smoothly she served and managed the disruption.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I was really in the flow with things and serving well,\u201d Anisimova said. \u201cProud of the way I was able to manage, especially with the rain.\u201d<\/p>\n The hard courts and American setting traditionally suit Anisimova\u2019s aggressive game. Her ability to take the ball early and flatten out shots from both wings makes her one of the tour\u2019s most dangerous baseline hitters when she finds her timing.<\/p>\n Anisimova also thanked the Cincinnati crowd for returning after the weather delay<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fans here are absolutely incredible,\u201d she said. \u201cI know it was pretty annoying with the rain, so thank you all for coming back out again.\u201d<\/p>\n Alex Eala Climbs to Projected Career-High WTA Ranking Getty\u00a0Alexandra Eala of the Philippines plays Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania during day 5 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 15, 2026 in Mason, Ohio.<\/p>\n Eala advanced<\/a> when Elena-Gabriela Ruse retired while trailing 6-1, 3-0. Ruse received treatment around her right foot shortly before approaching lightning stopped play and withdrew during the delay.<\/p>\n The shortened finish did not diminish the authority of Eala\u2019s performance. The No. 17 seed dominated the opening set, attacked Ruse\u2019s serve and built a double-break advantage in the second.<\/p>\n Eala entered Cincinnati at a career-high world No. 20, but her advancement lifted her two places to a projected new career high of No. 18 in the live WTA rankings<\/a>. Live rankings remain provisional until the WTA publishes its next official list.<\/p>\n The 21-year-old has continued her rapid ascent since becoming the first Filipino player to capture a WTA Tour singles title. She defeated world No. 3 Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in a rain-interrupted Washington Open final earlier in August, then reached the round of 16 in Toronto.<\/p>\n The first Anisimova-Eala meeting creates an intriguing tactical contrast. Anisimova will attempt to impose her pace and shorten points, while the left-handed Eala will look to absorb that power, change direction and test the American\u2019s movement.<\/p>\n Eala has already demonstrated that she can handle elite opposition, compiling nine victories in 13 matches against top-10 opponents.<\/p>\n The match is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 17. The tournament had not announced a start time or court assignment as of Sunday morning. Monday\u2019s day and night sessions begin at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Eastern time, respectively, according to the official Cincinnati Open schedule.<\/p>\n Anisimova will have home-country support, but Eala\u2019s vocal Filipino following has transformed her recent matches into events of their own. That makes Anisimova\u2019s prediction easy to understand.<\/p>\n For their first meeting, there may not be an empty seat \u2014 or a quiet one \u2014 in sight.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a veteran NBA reporter for Heavy.com, covering the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors. He brings over 20 years of experience across local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Originally from the Philippines, he is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty US player Amanda Anisimova celebrates beating US player Sofia Kenin during their women’s singles second round tennis…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":740006,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[101,118,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-740005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=740005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Cincinnati](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/cincinnati-open-2026-day-5-mason-ohio-august-15-alexandra.jpg\")
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