Bencic halts Eala’s breakthrough Canadian Open run

08-10 03:08

The Canadian crowd had one more chance to watch Alex Eala make history, but Belinda Bencic had other plans.

Eala’s breakthrough run at the WTA 1000 Canadian Open ended Monday as the 25th-seeded Filipina fell to 12th seed Bencic of Switzerland, 6-4, 6-0, in the fourth round at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto.

Once again surrounded by a sea of Filipino supporters inside the 12,500-seat Stadium Court, Eala battled a former world No. 4 and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist who ultimately proved too steady and experienced to overcome.

Eala started positively, holding serve in the opening game, but Bencic soon began dictating the exchanges. The Swiss broke Eala twice to take control before the Filipina fought back with two breaks of her own to level the first set at 4-4.

That comeback, however, was short-lived.

Bencic held in the ninth game and immediately broke Eala again to take the opening set.

The second set proved even more difficult for the Filipina. Bencic maintained relentless pressure and never allowed Eala to settle, sweeping all six games to finish the match in just one hour and 13 minutes.

The loss ended Eala’s seven-match winning streak and denied her a place in the Canadian Open quarterfinals.

For Bencic, the victory keeps alive her own resurgence. The Swiss star won the tournament in 2015, capturing the first of her two WTA 1000 titles, and is now through to another quarterfinal as she looks to rediscover her best form.

For Eala, however, the defeat does little to diminish what has been a remarkable stretch.

After winning her maiden WTA singles title in Washington and following it with a run to the last 16 in Toronto, the 20-year-old has once again shown that she can compete deep into major WTA events.

She now gets a brief opportunity to recover before returning to action at the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open, which runs from August 13 to 23.