Gabriela Ruse made a winning debut at WTA Beijing

Gabriela Ruse reached the second round of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Beijing after defeating Austria’s Lilli Tagger 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday. The match was played in China and lasted one hour and 24 minutes.

The 28-year-old Romanian, ranked 62nd in the world, controlled her opening match and beat 18-year-old Tagger, who is ranked 61st. It was the first head-to-head meeting between the two players.

The victory earns Ruse a $36,110 prize and 35 WTA ranking points. In the next round, the Romanian will face Linda Noskova, the fifth seed and world No. 6.

Ruse won the only previous match she played against the Czech player. The two met in June in the first round of the Bad Homburg tournament on grass, where the Romanian won convincingly, 6-1, 6-3. Noskova is a Wimbledon champion and a recent Billie Jean King Cup winner with the Czech team.