TENNIS – Alex Eala kept her winning streak alive on Wednesday after defeating American Alycia Parks, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, to book a place in the third round of the Canadian Open in Toronto.
Fresh from capturing the first WTA title of her career in Washington last week, the Filipina extended her unbeaten run on the North American hard courts to six matches.
The victory also allowed Eala to settle an earlier score against Parks, who knocked her out of the Australian Open in January after recovering from a first-set loss.
Seeded 25th in the WTA 1000 tournament, Eala opened her campaign in Toronto with a second-round bye and made an immediate impact against Parks at Sobeys Stadium.
After both players traded service holds early in the opening set, Eala broke in the fourth game and never looked back, racing to a dominant 6-1 advantage.
Parks responded in the second set, matching Eala game for game before breaking serve in the 10th game to level the contest.
The deciding set remained tight until Eala secured a crucial break in the fifth game after forcing a string of errors from the American.
From there, the Filipina stayed in control, holding serve comfortably before sealing the win in one hour and 51 minutes.
Backed by a large contingent of Filipino supporters waving flags and cheering throughout the match, Eala expressed her appreciation after the victory.
“I am eternally grateful. I just came off Washington, so I really feel like this is a celebration,” she said.
Addressing the Filipino fans in Filipino, Eala thanked them for their unwavering support and said she was proud to represent her country wherever she competes.
“And you know, my fellow Filipinos, I see you every single week supporting me. Week after week, I witness just how much you love our country and what it means to be Filipino.”
“That’s why I’m so, so, so incredibly proud to be a Filipino myself. Thank you so much, my fellow Filipinos. I love you all,” Eala said in Filipino.
She also acknowledged the electric atmosphere created by the crowd, saying it was a privilege to experience such support while competing on tour.
Eala will next face American Caty McNally for a place in the fourth round after McNally pulled off an upset over reigning Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova.
Elsewhere, second seed Elena Rybakina survived a three-set battle against Australia’s Daria Kasatkina, while third seed Jessica Pegula recovered from a set down to beat Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
Fourth seed Coco Gauff advanced with a straight-sets victory over fellow American Kayla Day, and world No. 5 Mirra Andreeva eased past former world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, 6-0, 6-2, to reach the third round.
In the men’s side, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev both suffered upsets against Dutch opponents in the second round, while fellow title contender Taylor Fritz also crashed out.
World number three Zverev, playing his first match since losing to Jannik Sinner in last month’s Wimbledon final, was beaten 6-7(3) 6-2 6-4 by Tallon Griekspoor, who arrived in Canada with one win in his last eight tour-level matches.
The defeat comes as a setback to the German’s preparations for the US Open, which begins on August 30.
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