If Alex Eala was still feeling the effects of her breakthrough title run in Washington — along with the celebrations and media frenzy that followed — she certainly did not show it in Toronto.
Just two days after capturing her maiden WTA title, the 25th-seeded Filipina dug deep to outlast American Alycia Parks, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, in the second round of the WTA 1000 Canadian Open on Thursday morning (Manila time) before a packed 12,500-capacity Stadium Court at Sobeys Stadium.
The victory served as sweet redemption for Eala, who fell to Parks in the opening round of the Australian Open last January. In that meeting, the 25-year-old American recovered from a first-set shutout by hammering 12 aces to claim a 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
More than six months later, however, Parks found herself facing a far more polished and confident Eala, one riding the momentum of her title-winning campaign at the WTA 500 Mubadala Citi DC Open.
Eala immediately made it clear that this encounter would be different.
The 20-year-old Filipina, who received a first-round bye, dictated play from the opening set and refused to be overwhelmed by the power of the 6-foot-1 Parks. Instead of trying to match her opponent’s firepower, the 5-foot-9 Eala relied on consistency, extending rallies and patiently forcing errors.
Parks fired four aces in the opening set, but Eala neutralized her biggest weapon by breaking serve twice while capitalizing on 18 unforced errors from the American. The Filipina wrapped up the opening frame in just 31 minutes, 6-1.
Just as she had in Melbourne, Parks responded.
The American blasted four aces in the opening game of the second set to hold serve and stayed level with Eala through the first eight games. With the score tied at 4-4, Parks finally earned her first service break of the match before serving out the set to force a deciding third frame.
Eala quickly regained the upper hand, breaking Parks in the opening game of the decider for her first break since the opening set. Parks refused to go away, battling back from a 0-2 deficit to level the score at 2-2. But Eala had an answer once again.
The Filipina broke Parks for the fourth time in the match to move ahead 3-2, a pivotal moment that swung the momentum back in her favor. From there, Eala reeled off the final three games to complete the victory after nearly two hours on court.
The win sends Eala into the Round of 32, where she will face another American in 24-year-old Caty McNally.
Currently ranked World No. 70, McNally pulled off one of the tournament’s biggest upsets by eliminating Czech standout Linda Noskova, 7-6(5), 6-1, in the second round.
Before that singles showdown, Eala will reunite with seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams as they begin their doubles campaign on Friday against Japan’s Miyu Kato and Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova.
