Alex Eala exits Canadian Open after bowing to Belinda Bencic in Round of 16

Alex Eala’s impressive seven-match winning streak was snapped by Belinda Bencic, who cruised to a 6-4, 6-0 victory over the Filipina in the Canadian Open Round of 16 Monday (Philippine time) in Toronto.

The 21-year-old Filipina tennis star opened the match by sweeping the world No. 14 Swiss in the opening game, but just could not establish any momentum throughout, bowing out of contention.

The 29-year-old Bencic, who ruled the 2015 Canadian Open, also denied Eala a fourth quarterfinal appearance in her last seven tournaments as she booked a spot in the last eight against Coco Gauff.

READ MORE | Top seeds Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff advance to Toronto QFs

"Thank you. 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. Thank you so much for the great crowd tonight," Bencic.

"And thank you to those who were cheering for me as well. It was super nice to play here tonight."

Eala, coming off a gritty three-set win over Caty McNally, carried her momentum into the Round of 16, overcoming an early deficit to force a 4-all deadlock after firing an ace to close out the seventh game and breaking Bencic in the next.

But Bencic, who has won her last 10 matches against left-handed players since 2024, proved too strong for Eala as she won back-to-back games to close out the opening set.

Bencic then raced to a commanding 5-0 lead in the second set, using her powerful serves and returns to keep Eala on the defensive.

But the Philippine bet mounted a fightback in the sixth game after falling behind 0-40, unleashing two consecutive backhand winners to drag the Swiss into a deuce. Eala, however, sent her return wide before Bencic sealed the game with a cross-court forehand to book her spot in the quarterfinals.

Bencic completed the Top 8 cast as Naomi Osaka set up a QF clash with Elena Rybakina while Iga Swiatek will face Diana Shnaider. Elina Svitolina, meanwhile, will take on Ekaterina Alexandrova.

After a first round bye, Eala advanced to the third round by defeating Alycia Parks, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, in their Round of 64 match before hurdling McNally, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the Round of 32.

—JMB, GMA News