Toronto party is over

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala’s amazing streak came to an end in Toronto yesterday.

After seven wins in a row, the Filipina sensation succumbed to ex-Olympic champion Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, 4-6, 0-6, crashing out in the WTA 1000 National Bank Open Round of 16 at Sobeys Stadium.

Eala stayed in the fight after a close opener, but the world No. 14 showed why she’s a 10-time WTA champion and 2021 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist, delivering a bagel in the second to seal it in 73 minutes.

The win sent the 29-year-old Swiss into the quarterfinals against world No. 4 Coco Gauff, marking her third straight quarterfinal in Canada.

Bencic silenced a roaring pro-Eala crowd – including a superfan dressed as a raptor in a nod to Toronto’s NBA team – that had been behind Eala since her breakthrough title run in Washington.

“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 said.

Bencic admitted she doesn’t love facing lefties.

“I feel like it can’t be coincidental. It’s weird for me as well because I really hate playing lefties and it’s just not comfortable. But maybe I feel like it because I have good timing,” she said.

For Eala, the loss ended the longest winning streak of her career and the longest active streak on the WTA Tour at the time. It followed a gritty 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over No. 70 Caty McNally where she battled an ankle scare, and a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 win over No. 71 Alycia Parks after a first-round bye.

The run was built on her maiden WTA title at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where she rallied to beat top seed Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 to become the first Filipina to win a WTA Tour singles title, beating Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, Leylah Fernandez, Elina Svitolina and Naomi Osaka along the way.

“It’s a tough one. Belinda put me in really tough situations. She played really well. But overall, it was really a good week for me. I’m super happy with the run that I’ve had,” Eala said. “It’s been an amazing debut in Toronto. I’m super grateful for the experience... I will take maybe two days off and then, I’ll be back.”

Next up: the Cincinnati Open, a WTA 1000 event starting Thursday, her final build-up to the US Open on Aug. 30-Sept. 13 in Flushing Meadows.