By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala fell to a more ferocious opponent in former champion Belinda Bencic, 4-6, 0-6, in the fourth round of the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada on Monday, Aug. 10.
The 25th-seeded Filipina couldn’t muster enough energy to outlast her seasoned Swiss rival, who won the tournament back in 2015.
The loss ended Eala’s seven-match winning streak highlighted by her breakthrough WTA Tour title win at the Mubadala DC Open last week.
The 12th-pick Bencic, for her part, arranged a quarterfinal meeting with fourth seed Coco Gauff, who dispatched Alina Korneeva, 6-3, 6-1.
Bencic’s dominance against left-handed opponents like Eala was also on full display as she improved her record against lefties to 10-0 since 2024.
The 29-year-old champion of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics lauded Eala’s resolve and thanked the crowd for the amazing atmosphere.
“I know most of you guys were cheering for Alex (Eala), but I still have to say it was very nice for me to play in front of you all. Thank you so much for the great crowd tonight,” Bencic said.
Bencic was relentless throughout the match, taking a commanding 4-2 lead in the first set before Eala briefly rose to the occasion and tied the match at 4-all.
But the Swiss star quickly regained her composure, breaking the Filipina’s serve to take the ninth game before holding serve to seal the set.
Bencic became more aggressive in the second frame, firing a variety of shots as Eala slowly faded and lost her steam to recover.
Prior to the loss, Eala, who received an opening-round bye, battled through two grueling matches — first against Alycia Parks, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, and then Caty McNally, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Despite the defeat, Eala is expected to have enough time to recover for the Cincinnati Open in Ohio, another WTA 1000 event scheduled from Aug. 13 to 23 that will serve as a key tuneup for the US Open later this month.
