TORONTO continued to be a happy hunting ground for Belinda Bencic.
The former champion and No. 12 seed returned to the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open for the third time in Toronto and the fourth time overall-including one quarterfinal appearance in Montreal-after ending Alexandra Eala’s seven-match winning streak in straight sets on Sunday night.
In the first meeting on the Women’s Tour Association (WTA) Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz between the pair, Bencic took control in the ninth game of the opening set, breaking serve before holding to close it out 6-4.
She then swept aside Eala in the second set without dropping a game to complete a 6-4, 6-0 victory in one hour and 13 minutes.
‘Tough one today. I think,’ Eala said. ‘Belinda put me in some really tough situations. I think she played really well. I wasn’t able to kind of get myself out and you know out of a certain mood.’
But she was satisfied with her performance despite the exit.
‘Overall really good week. I am super happy with the run that I’ve had and going to try to recover and come back out hot,’ she said. ‘I’m looking back at these past maybe two weeks as a really big positive. I think I’ve played really well. I’ve gotten through so many obstacles.’
She added: ‘Of course, right now, there’s that initial kind of just a little tired and down from the match. But yeah, I’m healthy, which is something I’m super grateful for, something that’s obviously on the top of my priority all the time.’
Up next for Eala are the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open starting August 13, also on a hard court, and the year’s last major, the US Open, beginning August 30 in Flushing Meadows, New York, where she’s also in the mixed doubles with Canadian world No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime.
‘I’m counting my blessings. I’m taking the lessons that I have I’ve had from these two weeks and hopefully implementing them even more and in a better way in Cincinnati and New York,’ she said.
The win was the 18th of Bencic’s career at the National Bank Open-the most she has recorded at any WTA 1000 event.
Bencic’s next-highest total is 15 wins at Indian Wells and she also improved to 15-4 on hard courts this season, a surface on which she has won eight of her 10 career singles titles.
It marked her 10th consecutive win over a left-handed player, dating to 2024, a statistic that surprised Bencic as well.
‘I feel like it can’t be coincidental, I don’t think,’ the 29-year-old Swiss said. ‘It’s weird for me as well because I really hate playing lefties and it’s just not comfortable, like the entire match you are uncomfortable, but maybe I feel like because I have good timing, I’m kind of able to switch. think that’s the only thing I can think of because I really don’t like playing them.’
Bencic also reached the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event for the 13th time in her career and the second time this season after Miami, where she lost to her next opponent, Coco Gauff.
No. 4 seed Gauff also dropped only four games in her 6-3, 6-1 victory over qualifier Alina Korneeva earlier on Sunday.
Gauff leads the head-to-head series 6-2, including victories in their last four meetings, all of which have come within the past 16 months. The last three matches have gone the distance.
‘Obviously she’s someone that always puts herself in the position to win the quarter finals and later on in the tournament, so obviously she’s a great champion and she’s very tricky to play against,’ she said. ‘I feel like I came close so many times but always kind of lost in the third set, but it’s really challenging to play against her so I’m excited to try again and try maybe a little bit different or just challenge her again.’