National Bank Open presented by Rogers •Round of 16 • Completed
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Alexandra Eala’s incredible journey came to an end – and it seemed like she was running on empty. After two weeks of intense, emotional matches, the 21-year-old faced Belinda Bencic on Monday night, who defeated her with a score of 6-4, 6-0 to secure a spot in the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Toronto.
The effort had been substantial. Eala arrived in Canada right after winning a title in Washington, which included a rain-delayed final that stretched over two days. She then battled through consecutive three-set matches against Alycia Parks and Caty Mc Nally, with the latter being a late-night thriller.
By the time she faced Bencic, who was on an eight-match winning streak and had gone through several tough battles, fatigue was evident. The first set was competitive but gave way to a second set where Eala struggled as Bencic found her rhythm and pulled away.
Impressive Performance from Bencic
Bencic played exceptionally well, winning 62% of points and converting six out of ten break points to reach her fourth career quarter-final in Canada. She will now face world No 4 Coco Gauff. Acknowledging the crowd’s support for Eala, she graciously remarked: “I know most of you were cheering for Alex, but it was very nice for me to play in front of you all. Thank you so much for the great crowd.”
Eala remained positive despite her loss and didn’t let exhaustion overshadow what had been an impressive week that elevated her to a career-high ranking of world No 20. “Tough one today, she put me in some really tough situations,” she said. “But overall, a really good week. I’m super happy with the run I’ve had, and I’m going to try to recover and come back out hot.”
She acknowledged the fatigue: “There’s that initial feeling of being a little tired and down after the match.” However, gratitude dominated her thoughts. “I’m healthy, which is on top of my priorities all the time. I’m counting my blessings and taking the lessons from these two weeks.”
She also cherished her connection with fans who filled the stadium each night. “It’s hard to describe the feeling of being in that stadium full of love. It’s been an amazing debut – I’ll carry these memories for a long time.”
WTA 1000 Toronto round of 16 matches
E. Alexandrova (16) d. A. Sabalenka (1): 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 E. Svitolina (9) d. A. Anisimova (8): 6-2, 6-4
D. Shnaider (15) d. J. Pegula (3): 6-3, 6-3 I. Swiatek (7) d. M. Kostyuk (10): 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
B. Bencic (12) vs A. Eala (25): 6-4, 6-0 C. Gauff (4) d. A. Korneeva: 6-3, 6-1
N. Osaka (11) d. L. Fernandez (30): 6-4, 6-4 E. Rybakina (2) d. L. Samsonova: 6 – 4 , 4 – 6 , 6 – 4
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