Jaqueline Cristian and Gabriela Ruse, two of the Cluj crowd favorites, won their opening doubles match 6–4, 6–3 against the Chinese pair Qianhui Tang and Yue Yuan.
“First of all, we were really happy to be back in Cluj, to step on court, to feel the vibe of the moment, and to be a team again. We prepared well these past days and were really looking forward to this. It was a good match — we both played quite well and lifted each other up in the first set. We understood each other well on court, enjoyed the atmosphere, and I’m super happy we won the match,” said Jaqueline.
Gabi Ruse added:
“I’m extremely happy to be back in Cluj. It was a very solid match from us today. I think it helped that we started with doubles. Three years ago, I played the semifinals here in Cluj with Masarova. Right now, I just want to play well and enjoy every moment I spend on court. I’m in a good place in my career and I simply want to enjoy it.”
Asked whether they would like to play doubles together more often, Jaqueline gave a detailed answer:
“We actually talked about this recently. Of course, Gabi has a very solid team with Marta Kostyuk — they’ve been playing together for many years. As for me, lately I haven’t focused that much on doubles, especially after my surgery when I couldn’t really play everything. But now I feel good, I want to play more doubles because I believe it helps my singles game a lot. We understand each other well, we make a good team, and we’ve known each other since we were 10 years old. So it’s definitely a plan for the future.”
“Well, it already is,” Jaqueline said. “I think we’ve all started the year well. We’re trying to build momentum and climb as high as possible. Rankings are the last thing we look at; as long as we do the right things, the results will naturally follow. We’re working to build better and better in every aspect of our tennis and our careers, because we’re at a good point now. I believe we’ve reached a level of maturity and personal development that helps us a lot on court.”
Gabriela Ruse and Jaqueline Cristian will next face the winners of the match between Bertea/Szabo and Chong/Liang.
