Rybakina beats Eala 6-4, 6-3 in Italian Open third round

ROME, Italy - World number two Elena Rybakina defeated Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-3 in the third round of the Italian Open on Sunday, advancing to the round of 16 at the WTA 1000 clay-court event for the fourth time in five appearances.

The Kazakh player, the 2023 champion here, dominated with her powerful baseline game and sharp serving, firing six aces and converting four of seven break-point opportunities during the 92-minute match at Foro Italico. It marked the first career meeting between the two. Rybakina broke Eala's serve three times, including in the opening game of the second set after the 20-year-old Filipina had briefly seized a 2-1 lead by breaking back and holding. Eala saved a set point in the first set and showed resilience with potent groundstrokes that neutralized some of Rybakina's power, but the top seed won five of the final six games to close it out.

Despite the loss, Eala reached the third round of a clay Masters event for the first time, having upset Magdalena Frech in the first round and Wang Xinyu in the second. Her performance earned her ranking points, projecting her to world number 38 and a rise of four spots, though she will not be seeded at the French...