Alexandra Eala continued her outstanding North American hard-court campaign by defeating Alycia Parks 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 to book her place in the third round of the National Bank Open in Toronto.
The Filipina star carried the momentum from her maiden WTA Tour singles title in Washington into her tournament debut in Canada, overcoming a spirited challenge to keep her impressive run alive.
Eala dominated the opening set with aggressive baseline tennis, winning five consecutive games after a 1-1 start while protecting her serve throughout the set.
Parks responded strongly in the second, saving multiple break points before breaking late to level the contest.
The deciding set remained competitive early on, but Eala secured a crucial break midway through and closed out the match by winning the final three games, wrapping up victory in one hour and 51 minutes.
She created 14 break-point opportunities, converting five, while avenging her Australian Open defeat to Parks earlier this season.
The victory further highlighted Eala's growing consistency at the highest level. She became the first Filipino player, male or female, to win a main-draw match at the National Bank Open and improved her record in three-set matches this season to 10-4.
The triumph also extended her streak to 10 consecutive victories whenever she wins the opening set, underlining her ability to finish matches strongly.
Eala's next challenge will be a maiden meeting with American Caty McNally.
McNally advanced after producing an impressive comeback to defeat Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova 7-6(5), 6-1, recovering from a 5-1 first-set deficit before dominating the remainder of the match.
The result marked McNally's second career victory over a Top-10 opponent and earned her a place in the third round.
ADD A COMMENT :