CAN’T BE STOPPED, won’t be stopped.
Newly-minted D.C. champion Alexandra “Alex” Eala picked up from where she left off with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win over Alycia Parks of the United States and rolled into the Round 3 of the WTA 1000 National Bank Open before a jam-packed, Philippine flag-waving crowd at the Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, Canada on Thursday.
Calm, cool and collected, the 21-year-old Pinay ace recovered from a second-set mishap by staging a 4-0 closeout punctuated by a love game in the eighth for an extension of her winning ways after reigning supreme in the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open on Tuesday at the US capital.
But Ms. Eala, WTA No. 20, did more than just that, finally settling an unfinished business with the world No. 71 Ms. Parks after a Round 1 defeat in the Australian Open (AO) earlier this year.
Ms. Eala in that Slam scored a bagel on Ms. Parks, 6-0, in the opener but went on to lose the last two sets. After a 6-1 clinical opener here in Toronto, She was put on the brink of a similar nightmare after wasting a 4-3 lead in the second set that paved the way for a clincher.
Like she promised though, she’s a different player now than she was in the AO as she flaunted a steely resolve when it mattered most, built on five break points compared to Ms. Parks’ only two. Ms. Eala was unforgiving in attack mode, winning 71% of her first serves and 52% of her second serves as Ms. Parks struggled to match Ms. Eala’s all-around game while playing sloppy with eight double faults.
Ms. Eala, seeded No. 25 for a first-round bye, will face WTA No. 70 Naty McNally of USA in the Round of 32 on Saturday. Ms. McNally, after trailing 1-5, pulled off the biggest upset in Toronto so far by taking down Wimbledon champion and world No. 7 Linda Noskova of Czechia, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.
But before Ms. McNally, Ms. Eala will reunite first with American legend Venus Williams as a wildcard tandem once more in the Toronto doubles against Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova and Miyu Kato of Japan on Friday.
“I think I had to take it point by point. Of course I think she played really well in the second and there were definitely things I could have done a little better,” said Ms. Eala, who also improved to 10-4 this season in three-setters.
“I tried to improve on that in the third. I tried to come out hot and just take all the opportunities that I could, because she doesn’t really give you much.”
For her escape act, Ms. Eala has the ever-passionate Filipino crowd to thank for, netting her six straight wins since the majestic D.C. campaign. Overall, it’s also Ms. Eala’s sixth win in seven WTA 1000 opening matches this season with her only loss coming in Doha against Tereza Valentova.
“Kumusta tayo ngayon Toronto? Iwagayway niyo ang mga bandila niyo. There are so many Filipinos and flags in the crowd (on Friday) so thank you. I am eternally grateful. I just came off Washington and I feel like this is a celebration,” said the ecstatic Ms. Eala, jumping with both her hands up and egging on the crowd to celebrate with her.
Indeed, it felt like a massive celebration, one that Ms. Eala didn’t enjoy to the fullest as she departed from D.C. to Toronto on the dot of her historic conquest with a first WTA Tour title of her blooming career.
In D.C., Ms. Eala had one of the greatest runs for a maiden WTA title by toppling the Olympic champion, reigning D.C. titlist, WTA Tour Finals champion and four-time Grand Slam winner before capping it with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 revenge on world No. 3 Jessica Pegula, her tormentor in the Miami Open last year.
She just exacted vengeance on Ms. Parks as well, looking to replicate the feat against a bigger, tougher draw in the 1000-level Canadian Open serving as one of the lead-up tournaments for the US Open, the season’s final Slam on Aug. 30 to Sept. 13 in Flushing Meadows, New York.
A projected title path of death awaits Ms. Eala in world No. 110 Taylor Townsend (doubles No. 2), No. 4 Coco Gauff of USA, No. 2 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
And she’s as ready as ever to hold her own against whoever stands in the way. — John Bryan Ulanday