Alex Eala overcame a second-set ankle scare and a determined fightback from American Caty McNally to prevail 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 and advance to the Round of 16 of the WTA Tour National Bank Open in Toronto on Friday (Saturday, PST).
The victory marked Eala's third straight win over an American opponent, after her triumph over Jessica Pegula in the Mubadala DC Open final and her second-round victory against Alycia Parks in Toronto. More importantly, the 21-year-old Filipina remained unbeaten in the North American hard-court swing, improving to 7-0.
"I'm OK," Eala said when asked about her ankle sprain.
"Yeah, I think I survived that one. It was so tough."
Eala, the world No. 20 and No. 25 seed, and McNally each struggled on serve early, with the opening three games ending in breaks as the players traded blows from the baseline.
McNally finally held in the fourth game, to consolidate her advantage at 3-1, but Eala quickly wrestled control back. The Filipina held serve in the fifth before applying pressure on McNally's next service to earn another break and level the set at 3-3. Eala then backed up the break with a hold, and she started to dictate the tempo from the baseline while continuing to pressure McNally's second serve. She broke McNally once more in the eighth game before calmly serving out the ninth to take the opening set, 6-3.
Eala's 12-5 advantage in winners proved decisive, allowing the DC Open champion to dictate play and take control of the opening set.
The pair each held comfortably at the start of the second set before three consecutive breaks, after which Eala led 3-2.