Alex Eala was eliminated from the Ningbo Open in the second round after losing to Diana Shnaider in straight sets on Thursday.
Shnaider, who reached the Roland Garros semifinals earlier this year, defeated Eala 7-5, 6-4 in a closely contested first career meeting between the two. The 22-year-old Russian will take on fourth seed Iva Jovic for a place in the semifinals of the Ningbo Open.
Shnaider and Jovic are two of the only three seeds remaining in Ningbo, along with world number one Elena Rybakina.
Diana Shnaider reacts after facing Alex Eala for the first time
Reacting to the bout with Eala in an interview with WTA, Shnaider said: “It was definitely a very high-level match, very entertaining. I mean, obviously, I was expecting that it’s going to be a very tough, tight match. Again, Alex has had an amazing season. She’s a very dangerous opponent, lefty, big hitter, you know, she’s going for her shots.
“So you have to be ready for everything. I was very happy with the way I played, the way I also held my composure, my emotions, because there were a lot of tight games and tight moments. Definitely raised my level from my first round match to today. So I definitely enjoyed my level more today. And yeah, it was a great match. I feel like both of us enjoyed our first meeting. It was a very entertaining match.
“I feel like sometimes it’s a little bit hard also for outside people to understand why both of us constantly keep losing our serve. But I have a great return, and then Alex also is super aggressive on her returns. So that’s why sometimes it’s very hard to hold your own serve, just because you constantly feel the pressure, because you can’t really push the second serve, because then you just get a winner, or then you get pushed back.
“So I feel like, you know, I just try to just keep reminding myself that she’s playing great, and sometimes there’s nothing that you can do much, and also nothing that you did wrong. So you have just got to stay at your level. Sascha [Bajin] said, just try to defend deep through the middle, because Alex is very good from the angles.
“She likes angles. So yeah, definitely there are small moments where you can do something a little bit different. But again, she was playing very good from return. So sometimes you just gotta accept it, and just wait for the moment where maybe she will make a couple more mistakes, or where you have more opportunities.”
“I feel like there are different types of players. Obviously, some players are actually better from the middle, and you gotta give the angle more to them, and move them more, because it’s harder for them to move to the ball and have that space.
“But some like Alex, they’re actually so good on the stretch, and they’re much better at creating angle from an angle, where you just gotta go through the middle deep, because it’s what makes their life harder to create that angle.”
Diana Shnaider looks ahead to match with Iva Jovic
Shnaider has played her next opponent, Jovic, just once before, with the sole clash coming at the Dubai Tennis Championships earlier this year. Ahead of their second meeting, Shnaider said of the 18-year-old American: “She’s very dangerous, another big hitter.
“This time it’s gonna be a right-hander. But yeah, also having an amazing season. Yeah, very talented player. It’s gonna be a tough match. I feel like she’s also going for her shots. She’s gonna try to be as aggressive as she can.
“Yeah, she played very good in Dubai, but I feel like the conditions are a little bit different. There was, I feel like, a faster surface. Definitely a faster ball. So yeah, we’re gonna see what tomorrow brings to us. But I’ll definitely do my best to try to play as good as today, and keep my cool. And yeah, we’ll see. But it’s gonna be an interesting match.”
Jovic, ranked 12th in the world currently, captured her second WTA title last month in Guadalajara.