American tennis player Amanda Anisimova shared some of her thoughts after beating Filipino tennis sensation Alex Eala at the third round of the Cincinnati Open. The world ranked 10 and number nine seed in the tournament expressed how the Filipino athlete gave her a good match.
Amanda defeated Alex with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. With her win, she is set to advance to the Round of 16 and face current Wimbledon champion, Linda Noskova.
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“I know Alex is such a great player and such a fighter so I knew it was gonna be a really tough match,” Amanda said.
The first set of the match showed the tough mentality of Alex as she tried to break Amanda’s service game. During the fifth game of the first set, the two made sure to give it their all as they had 13 deuces which eventually went the way of the Filipino superstar.
“There was quite a bit of support for me tonight so I really appreciate that because I know how loved Alex is, and for good reason. But I really appreciated it because I felt like I needed a pick me up in this match because it’s past my bed time,” Amanda continued.
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She expressed that she was content with how she played the game, having been able to hold her own against Alex who has been known to beat the Top 10 players of the WTA tour. Alex currently has seven wins against the top players and was holding on to a five-match winning streak against them prior to her match with Amanda.
“I’m really proud of this performance… for being able to find the way and kind of push myself there in the middle of the match. I’m really happy with the way I was able to find my tennis and start fighting. It was a really really tough match and credit to her. She was playing some great tennis, so I’m really happy with this win,” she ended.
Meanwhile, Alex is now making her way to the US Open where she will be a seeded player for the first time in the tournament. This marks the second time that she will be seeded in a Grand Slam tournament following the successful run she had in Wimbledon earlier this year.