Alex Eala has already made her mark on the North American hard-court swing.
Now, with the US Open looming, she has one more WTA 1000 event to sharpen her game before the season's final Grand Slam.
The 21-year-old Filipina takes a season's 7-1 North American hard-court record into the Cincinnati Open, a stretch that includes her breakthrough WTA title at the Mubadala DC Open and a round-of-16 appearance at the National Bank Open in Toronto.
Those results have pushed Eala to a career-high world No. 20 and the No. 17 seed in Cincinnati, giving her another first-round bye as she continues her rapid rise up the WTA rankings.
While the seeding gives Eala an extra day before beginning her campaign, the draw has done little to ease the Filipina's path in Mason.