ALEX Eala ran out of gas in Toronto as Belinda Bencic ended the Filipina’s 2026 National Bank Open run, 4-6, 0-6, at the Round of 16 stage on Monday morning.
The world No. 14, former world No. 4, and Olympic gold medalist showed great maturity from a 4-all deadlock in the opening set, taking control from there to put an end to Eala's magical two weeks from her historic DC Open victory.
READ Eala neither burdened nor daunted by heightened expectations
A struggling Eala, meanwhile, showed signs of fatigue throughout the match, having so little time to recover after winning her maiden WTA 500 title at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington last week.
The Filipina also appeared to still be dealing with the effects of a grueling run in Toronto, where she needed back-to-back extended sets to get past Alycia Parks and Caty McNally in the first two rounds.
Several times in the match, Eala also had to nurse her right ankle which she rolled in the match before this against McNally.
The loss snapped Eala’s seven-match winning streak and marked the first defeat of her North American hard-court swing.
Bencic, 29, advances to the quarterfinals, where she will face American Coco Gauff as she looks to claim her second Canadian Open title, 11 years after winning her first in 2015.
Eala, meanwhile, will take her talents to the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open, which runs from August 13 to 23.
The 21-year old was in top form since beginning her hard-court season in the US capital. But against Bencic, Eala struggled defensively and had difficulty getting her first serve going as the Swiss steadily pulled away.
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