Romania's Gabriela Ruse, Irina Bara qualify for the round of sixteen of ITF tournament in Cairo

Romanian tennis players Elena Gabriela Ruse and Irina Bara qualified on Tuesday for the round of sixteen of the ITF tournament in Cairo, with a total prize pool of 60,000 US dollars.

Ruse (22 years, WTA's 178th), seed no. 8, defeated Italian Stefania Rubini (27 years, WTA's 309th), with 6-2, 6-4, in the first round, in one hour and 14 minutes of playing. Her next opponent will be Anastasiya Komardina (Russia) or Sandra Samir (Egypt).

Irina Bara (24 years, WTA's 162nd), seed no. 6, defeated her fellow countrywoman Georgia Andreea Craciun (20 years, WTA's 356th), who came from qualifications, with 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, in two hours and 9 minutes of playing. In the round of sixteen, Bara will meet Lamis Alhussein Abdel Aziz (Egypt) and Tereza Mrdeza (Croatia).

In the doubles event, Bara and Dutch Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove qualified for the quarterfinals after scoring 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 with Melanie Klaffner (Austria)/Sandra Samir (Egypt).

Irina Begu (29, WTA's 97th), who won a 100,000 US dollars worth tournament in Cairo on Sunday, is seed no. 4 and she will play on Wednesday in the first round against an Egyptian, namely Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdelaziz (aged 23, WTA's 188th).