Eala hot streak ends at the hands of Bencic
CEBU, Philippines — Filipina tennis star Alex Eala kissed her bid for back-to-back titles goodbye after bowing to world No.14 Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the fourth round of the WTA1000 National Bank Open on Monday, August 10 (Philippine time) at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, Canada.
The world No.20 Eala was swept 4-6, 0-6 by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Bencic.
After being down by two points in the first set, Eala forced a 4-4 deadlock but Bencic chalked up two straight points to gain a 1-0 head start.
Take the first set.
It was a complete domination by Bencic in the second set, with the Swiss handing the 21-year-old Eala a bagel to power her way into the quarterfinals.
The 29-year-old Bencic knocked out Eala in just 73 minutes for her 10th consecutive victory over left-handed opponents.
She next faces the American world No.4 Coco Gauff for a seat in the semifinals. Gauff advanced to the last eight after ousting Russian teenage qualifier Alina Korneeva, 6-3, 6-1.
Eala, on the other hand, saw her seven-game winning streak come to a screeching halt after losing for only the second time in her past 12 matches since Wimbledon. — (FREEMAN)
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