TORONTO — Alex Eala’s breakthrough run at the National Bank Open ended Monday, but the 21-year-old Filipino star left Toronto with a new set of lessons and a place among the tournament’s quarterfinalists.
Eala fell to Swiss No. 14 seed Belinda Bencic, 6-4, 6-0, in a 73-minute match at Sobeys Stadium. After the loss, Eala received a standing ovation from the Toronto crowd as she walked off center court.
“I knew it was my last time, the last time that I was gonna be out on that court for a while,” Eala said.
The defeat ended a strong stretch for Eala, who won the Mubadala Citi DC Open title before reaching the quarterfinals in her Canadian Open debut.
Eala said she plans to use the break between tournaments to step away from tennis for a while.
“I need to get a haircut,” she told reporters. “I haven’t gotten a haircut in a while. My nails are grown out. So, yeah, I’ll do a couple of things just to get my mind off tennis.”
Bencic controlled the match with her first serve and prevented Eala from finding the rhythm that carried her through the tournament.
“Belinda put me in some really tough situations,” Eala said. “I wasn’t able to get myself out of a certain mood.”
Despite the loss, Eala said she views the past two weeks positively.
“It’s always tough, of course, after a loss. But like I said, I’m looking back at these past maybe two weeks as a really big positive. I think I’ve played really well.”
Eala also thanked the Toronto crowd for its support throughout her first appearance at the tournament.
“The atmosphere this whole week has been just incredible,” she said. “It’s hard to describe to other people kind of the feeling of being in that stadium full of fans and all the love.”
Eala will now turn her attention to the Cincinnati Open, another WTA 1000 tournament, before the US Open, where she is expected to receive a new seeding for the hard-court Grand Slam.
“I’m taking the lessons that I’ve had from these two weeks and hopefully implement them even more and in a better way in Cincinnati and New York,” she said.
Eala also credited the Filipino community for the support she received during her run, saying she sees herself as part of a larger movement rather than its sole representative.
“I am kind of just like a drop in the ocean when it comes to Filipinos and their pride for their culture and where they come,” Eala said. “I do a lot to kind of represent my country and I’m very proud of it, but you see, the stadium was full of people who do the same thing.”
Bencic, meanwhile, extended her winning streak against left-handed players to 10 matches. The Swiss star said she found Eala’s left-handed game difficult to handle.
“I hate to play against lefties so I’m surprised by this statistic,” Bencic said. “Very tricky.”
Bencic advanced to the semifinals with the victory, while Eala left Toronto with her best result at the tournament and momentum heading into the final stretch of the hard-court season.
