Alex Eala Beats Alycia Parks to Reach the Canadian Open Third Round
Alex Eala advanced to the third round of the National Bank Open in Toronto on Wednesday, Thursday morning Philippine time, beating Alycia Parks 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 in her Canadian Open debut. She became the first Filipino player, male or female, to win a main-draw match at the tournament. Centre Court was sold out at 10,000.
Parks was the player who spoiled Eala’s Australian Open main-draw debut last January, taking a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 win after being blanked in the opening set. It was their only previous meeting.
The first set took 31 minutes
Eala broke first in the fourth game, using her return to force errors, then held to move ahead 4-1. She broke Parks again in the sixth game and served it out, taking five straight games to close the opener in 31 minutes. Parks hit four aces in that set but committed 18 unforced errors. Eala made seven.
Parks made her earn it
Parks saved four break points to hold for 3-2 in the second, then broke in the tenth game to take it 6-4 and force a decider. Parks, ranked No. 71, cut down her errors and dictated the pace once she settled. She finished the match with 10 aces.
The decider
Eala went up 2-0 in the third, absorbed Parks’ push back to 2-2, then closed with four straight games. The match lasted 1 hour, 51 minutes. She converted five of her 14 break-point chances.
“I am eternally grateful,” Eala said afterward, in front of a crowd waving Philippine flags.
Six straight wins
Eala is 6-0 on the North American hard-court swing, with the first five wins producing her title at the Mubadala DC Open. That was the first WTA Tour-level singles title won by a Filipino. On the way to it she beat Zheng Qinwen, Leylah Fernandez, Elina Svitolina, Naomi Osaka, and top seed Jessica Pegula, taking the final 4-6, 6-4, 6-0. The title moved her to a career-high No. 20. She entered Toronto as the 25th seed with a first-round bye.
Next
Eala faces American Caty McNally, who beat Linda Noskova 7-6(5), 6-1. McNally is 24, ranked No. 70, and hit a career-high No. 50 in June. It will be their first career meeting.
