Elena Rybakina impressed after battling Alexandra Eala in Rome

Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images Elena Rybakina has booked her place in the Italian Open quarter-finals, seeing off Alexandra Eala in straight sets. Still, the match wasn’t without its challenges. The world number two had to dig deep against an opponent who didn’t back down easily.

Most didn’t give the 20-year-old much of a chance before play started, especially considering her serve was up against one of the best in the game. Eala showed plenty of resolve and was only broken three times while managing to break Rybakina once herself. Afterwards, Rybakina shared her thoughts on what was her first encounter with Eala.

Elena Rybakina shares her thoughts after first meeting with Alexandra Eala Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images With the backing she has, every opponent will take note of what it’s like to play against one of the Philippines’ standout talents. And she’s exactly the type of player who won’t give anything away easily, always making sure her fans have something to cheer about. She didn’t need to be asked twice if she was happy to get through without too much trouble.

She said: “It’s nice to win in straight sets and it’s better than the previous tournament and today was tough conditions. It was raining before, so it was very slow and the balls were heavy, but I’m happy that I managed to win. “We played with Alex for the first time against each other and it’s always challenging to play against a lefty, but overall I’m happy with everything I did on the court.