Alexandra Eala’s impressive run at the Canadian Open came to an end on Sunday night as World No. 14 Belinda Bencic produced a dominant performance to defeat the Filipino star 6-4, 6-0 in Toronto.
Eala entered the contest full of confidence after winning her maiden WTA Tour title at the Washington Open last week. However, Bencic proved too strong on the night, ending the 20-year-old’s fascinating run and booking her place in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka continued her impressive form by defeating No. 30 seed Leylah Fernandez 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 22 minutes to reach the quarterfinals.
The Japanese star maintained control throughout the contest despite Fernandez keeping the scoreboard close. Osaka broke early in the opening set and consistently applied pressure on her opponent, particularly with her powerful groundstrokes.
After trading holds in the opening two games, Osaka broke Fernandez to move 2-1 ahead. A forehand error from Fernandez put her under pressure at 0-15 before Osaka produced a crosscourt backhand that landed just inside the line for 0-30. Fernandez’s errors eventually handed Osaka the break.
Osaka went on to protect her advantage and secured the opening set 6-4. The second set followed a similar pattern, with the four-time Grand Slam champion maintaining her composure at the crucial moments before closing out another 6-4 victory.
“It’s a big confidence boost, but I’m the type of person who’s just happy to play more and more matches,” Osaka said in her on-court interview.
“Coming back after pregnancy, I was really eager to play the best players, and now I’m able to play them and go toe-to-toe. So I’m just really happy about that.”
The victory marks another significant milestone in Osaka’s comeback. She has now reached the quarterfinals at four consecutive WTA Tour events that she entered for the first time since 2021.
Bencic Ends Eala’s Dream Run
While Osaka continued her march towards the quarterfinals, Eala’s Canadian Open campaign ended in disappointing fashion against Bencic.
The Swiss star immediately looked to attack Eala’s serve, standing close to the baseline and unleashing powerful returns and groundstrokes. Bencic secured an early break at 2-1, but Eala responded strongly and showed the fighting spirit that had carried her to her first WTA title the previous week.
Eala managed to break Bencic twice in the opening set and kept herself within touching distance. However, with the score tied at 4-4, Bencic created another break opportunity.
Eala produced a powerful serve that Bencic could barely return, allowing the Filipino to move forward with an open court. However, Eala’s forehand went back towards Bencic, who produced a perfectly executed lob over her opponent to secure the crucial break.
Bencic then served out the set 6-4. The second set was a completely different story. Bencic continued to dictate the rallies while Eala struggled to find answers, with the Swiss star racing through the set 6-0 to complete a comprehensive victory.
“Tough one today,” Eala said. “Belinda put me in some tough situations. I think she played really well. I wasn’t able to kind of get myself out of a certain mode.”
Eala also had strong support inside Sobeys Stadium, with a raucous contingent of Filipino supporters repeatedly chanting, “Let’s go Alex, let’s go!” followed by two claps between points.