Camille Naredo

Belinda Bencic of Switzerland celebrates match point against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines during day eight of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 09, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. Matthew Stockman, Getty Images/AFP

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 09: Belinda Bencic of Switzerland celebrates match point against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines during day eight of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 09, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario.   Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by MATTHEW STOCKMAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

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WTA 1000 National Bank Open Presented by Rogers 2026 - Day 8

Dyan Castillejo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1786342230770AFP__20260810__2289796838__v1__MidRes__Wta1000NationalBankOpenPresentedByRogers2026D.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Belinda Bencic of Switzerland celebrates match point against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines during day eight of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 09, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. Matthew Stockman, Getty Images/AFP"/>Belinda Bencic of Switzerland celebrates match point against Alexandra Eala of the Philippines during day eight of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at Sobeys Stadium on August 09, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. Matthew Stockman, Getty Images/AFP</div>TORONTO, Canada -- Swiss veteran Belinda Bencic credited her returns and a timely lesson from the previous round as key factors in her 6-4, 6-0 win over Filipino star Alex Eala in the Canadian Open on Sunday.Bencic ended Eala&#x27;s campaign in the round-of-16, completing the win in 73 minutes.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/8/10/alex-eala-ousted-in-toronto-by-bencic-1023">READ: Alex Eala ousted in Toronto by Bencic</a></div>This was her 10th win in a row over left-handed opponents -- something that surprised Bencic. &quot;I hate to play against lefties so I&#x27;m surprised by this statistic,&quot; Bencic said. &quot;With every lefty, it&#x27;s a little bit trickier to return. I&#x27;m really happy with the way I returned, I think it&#x27;s maybe one of my biggest strengths, so I think that helps. I&#x27;m also glad that I played a lefty in the round before,&quot; she added, referring to her previous match against Taylor Townsend.&quot;I felt like I had a little bit more problems against Taylor with the serve. But we had a really good performance today.&quot;She also identified something she saw in Eala&#x27;s game that mirrored her own.&quot;I feel like she takes the ball early as well, like me. So I think that&#x27;s a little bit similar in our games,&quot; she said. &quot;But I hope that I also made some trouble for her and stopped her from being able to play so well. In the second set I really felt good with my game, and I tried to be aggressive and put her under pressure.&quot;As expected, the bulk of the fans at the stadium cheered for Eala but Bencic was unfazed by the atmosphere.&quot;I never really minded that. Whenever I played Serena [Williams] a couple of years ago, and also in Fed Cup against France and Brazil, I really like it — I embrace it,&quot; she said. &quot;I definitely prefer this over a crowd that&#x27;s not really interested or a little bit quiet.&quot;&quot;Obviously I know they were cheering for her, which was super nice, and the atmosphere was great. So I kind of just tried to focus on myself and also embrace it for myself. I was mentally prepared, but it&#x27;s not something that bothers me so much.&quot;Bencic now faces Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals. &quot;Obviously she&#x27;s someone that always puts herself in the position to be in the quarterfinals and later in the tournament. She&#x27;s a great champion, and she&#x27;s very tricky to play against,&quot; Bencic said.&quot;I feel like I came close so many times, but always kind of lost in the third set. Not kind of — I lost.&quot;&quot;It&#x27;s really a challenge to play against her, so I&#x27;m excited to try again and maybe do a little bit different or just challenge her again. So yeah, I&#x27;m excited.&quot;

Swiss veteran Belinda Bencic credited her returns and a timely lesson from the previous round as key factors in her 6-4, 6-0 win over Filipino star Alex Eala in the Canadian Open on Sunday.

Swiss veteran Belinda Bencic credited her returns and a timely lesson from the previous round as key factors in her 6-4, 6-0 win over Filipino star Alex Eala in the Canadian Open on Sunday.

Tennis: Bencic solves Eala puzzle, embraces Filipino crowd in Toronto

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Tennis: Bencic solves Eala puzzle, embraces Filipino crowd in Toronto

Dyan Castillejo,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 10, 2026 02:14 PM PHT

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tennis

Canadian Open

Belinda Bencic

Alex Eala

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