Pitch-Perfect Bencic Stops Eala’s Run in Toronto

Alexandra Eala had wind in her sails heading into her first career meeting with Belinda Bencic on Sunday night in Toronto – and a stadium full of fans to back her. 

None of it mattered very much as Bencic, playing close to the lines and with the narrowest margins, ran past the talented southpaw, 6-4, 6-0 to book her fourth trip to the quarterfinals at the National Bank Open. 

The loss snaps Eala’s career best winning streak, ending the DC Open champion’s unblemished run at seven.

It wasn’t just a solid win for the 2015 champion – it was a gem of a performance that sparkled from start to finish. Bencic clocked 23 winners against just 6 unforced errors and won 72 percent of first-serve points as she ran away from the Filipino trailblazer and did what no one else has been able to do during the North American hard court season thus far: quiet the eardrum-splitting fervor of Eala’s passionate fanbase. 

They were loud, as expected, but never really had a chance to go crazy down the stretch as Bencic pinballed through the final eight games on the trot to seal the win in 73 minutes. 

Eala hit 16 winners against 15 unforced errors – but only managed to win 46 percent of first-serve points. 

“I know most of you guys were cheering for Alex, but I still have to say it was very nice for me to play in front of you all, and thank you so much for the great crowd tonight,” Bencic said after the win, which sets up a quarterfinal with Coco Gauff.


Bencic has now won her last ten matches against southpaws. 

“I hate to play against lefties, so I’m surprised by this,” she said. 

Benic is one of three moms to have reached the last eight in Toronto, along with Naomi Osaka, who ended the hopes of hometown favorite Leylah Fernandez, 6-4, 6-4, and Elina Svitolina, who defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday. 

“I’m really happy for all of the moms that do really well, and obviously, I think we take inspiration from each other,” she said. “But at the end of the day, on the court, we don’t really think about that. We’re still athletes and trying to do our best.” 

Earlier on Saturday Coco Gauff took care of rising 19-year-old Alina Korneeva, 6-3, 6-1. 

The 22-year-old American is the highest seed remaining, at No.4. She’s also one of four former Grand Slam champions to have reached the quarterfinals, along with Osaka, Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina. 

Osaka and Rybakina will meet for the first time in a heavily anticipated contest on Tuesday in Toronto. 

“She’s an amazing player,” Osaka said of the two-time major champion. “I’ve practiced with her twice, in Australia this year, and also at Roland Garros. And they have been really good practices, so I’m kind of excited for a match. Because, yeah, she has a great serve, she’s aggressive, and it’s also, for me, very fun to play against the best players.”

Rybakina kicked off the action on Sunday by defeating Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. She rallied from 3-0 down in the third to get the win.