ANOTHER Olympic champion separates Alexandra “Alex” Eala from a second straight WTA Tour quarterfinal berth. Battered and all though, Ms. Eala assured her readiness in standing her ground to shore up her drive for a second straight WTA Tour title as well.
“I am as tired as one can be at this stage. You can imagine a lot of matches but that’s the job. I’m ready,” declared Ms. Eala, who will go up against another titan in 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic of Switzerland.
Assuring that her right ankle is fine after a slight tweak in the Round of 32, the world No. 20 Ms. Eala locks horns with world No. 14 Swiss at 8:10 a.m. on Monday (Manila time) in their first meeting for a seat in the Last 8 of the WTA 1000 National Bank Open (NBO) in Toronto, Canada.
Winner gets a shot at either world No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States or No. 89 Alina Korneeva of Russia.
Ms. Eala will come into the sold out Sobeys Stadium armed with all the momentum on her side, enjoying a seven-game winning streak. It’s the longest in the 21-year-old Filipina’s career and the longest active run among all players in the WTA Tour.
Not even an ankle problem, a fatigue in her eighth straight game in the past week alone, and a 10-time WTA champion awaiting her could scare Ms. Eala from extending her winning ways — especially in a situation that she already encountered before.
Back in Washington D.C., Ms. Eala capped one of the greatest runs for a maiden WTA Tour title that included 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over 2024 Paris Olympics champion Zheng Qinwen of China. She went on to beat the reigning champion, WTA Tour finals champion, four-time Grand Slam champion and 11-time WTA champion in succession to win it all.
“I have high hopes for the rest of the tournament. I’m super excited. It’s going to be the first time that I’m facing Belinda (Bencic),” added Ms. Eala, who powered through her injury in eking out a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 escape act from WTA No. 70 Caty McNally of USA in the Round of 32.
Ms. Eala said she landed her right foot badly after a forehand return in the second set up 3-2, prompting her to call a medical time out. Though showing grit to move at match point, that minor injury resulted in her meltdown for a 5-7 loss.
With heart of a champion though and a boost from a predominantly Filipino crowd, Ms. Eala powered through behind a 3-1 start and repelled the repeated rallies of Ms. McNally, who came out swinging on the crest of a titanic upset over Wimbledon champion and world No. 7 Linda Noskova of Czechia.
Apart from a boatload of matches in the past seven days alone, that’s also Ms. Eala’s third straight marathon after turning back world No. 3 Jessica Pegula of USA, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0, to win her first WTA Tour title in the Mubadala DC Open and No. 71 Alycia Parks of USA as well, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in Round 2 in Toronto.
That’s on top of a doubles play sandwich, teaming up with American legend and former world No. 1 Venus Williams in doubles match prior to the singles Round of 32, albeit they absorbed 6-4, 6-3 loss to Russia’s Ludmila Samsonova and Miyu Kato of Japan for an early exit.
Ms. Eala, who had a first-round bye as the No. 25 seed in Toronto, hopes to showcase similar resilience and fortitude against Ms. Bencic, who for her part pulled off a squeaker against No. 110 Taylor Townsend of USA (doubles No. 2), 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, to march on.
“Of course, Belinda has accomplished so much in tennis. I remember watching her win the Olympic medal. I’m excited for another match. I’m going to do my best to recover and start again from zero,” she vowed, crediting a great team behind her for ensuring her full recovery and healing in a quick windup. — John Bryan Ulanday