By elAmigo
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala battled through a grueling three-set encounter against American Caty McNally to reach the round of 16 of the Canadian Open in Toronto.
The Filipina tennis star overcame a second-set setback and an ankle scare before closing out McNally, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, at Sobeys Stadium on Friday.
The victory, which lasted two hours and 39 minutes, sent the world No. 20 Eala into the fourth round of the WTA 1000 tournament.
Eala appeared poised to finish the match in straight sets after taking a 5-4 lead in the second set. However, she was unable to serve out the match as McNally capitalized on a series of errors to force a deciding set.
The Filipino campaigner also had to deal with a physical setback after she fell during the second set. A trainer attended to her right ankle and wrapped it before she continued playing.
“I think survived that one. It was so tough,” Eala said after the match, while assuring the crowd that she was fine.
She also credited McNally for putting up a strong fight.
“It was one of those matches that really could have gone either way,” Eala said, noting that the outcome came down to small details and some luck.
Eala started slowly in the opening set, falling behind 1-3 before finding her rhythm. She then won five consecutive games to take control and secure the set, 6-3.
After surrendering the second set, Eala quickly responded in the decider by breaking McNally in the opening game. She maintained the advantage and moved ahead 5-3.
McNally managed to hold serve to prolong the contest, but Eala remained composed in the following game. Two consecutive errant forehands from the American handed Eala the victory.
A large contingent of Filipino supporters again provided vocal encouragement from the stands, something Eala said made the victory particularly meaningful.
“To play in front of you guys, it’s amazing,” she said. “The motivation to come here and play another match, everything just becomes so much more emotional.”
Eala’s next opponent will be Swiss 12th seed Belinda Bencic, who defeated American Taylor Townsend, 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, in another lengthy battle.
Other Canadian Open results
Defending Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina also advanced to the last 16 after beating American Ann Li, 6-2, 7-5.
Rybakina will next meet Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova, who defeated Australian Maya Joint, 7-5, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2.
Canadian Leylah Fernandez pulled off one of the day’s notable victories by eliminating fifth-ranked Russian Mirra Andreeva, 6-1, 6-4.
Fernandez will next face former world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, who dispatched Belgium’s Elise Mertens, 6-1, 6-2.
American fourth seed Coco Gauff also moved into the fourth round after beating Greece’s Maria Sakkari, 6-1, 6-4.
elamigo/xf
