ALEXANDRA “ALEX” EALA fell to former Grand Slam champion Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in Round 1, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6, for a quick exit in the 2025 National Bank Open on Monday in Montreal, Canada.
The 20-year-old Filipina waxed hot early with an easy first-set win only to be outclassed the rest of the way by the Czech standout, WTA No. 63, for a flat start in her US Open build-up.
Ms. Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, punished Ms. Eala with seven aces, connecting on 62% of her first serves and limiting the Pinay ace to just three games won in the second and third set combined.
Ms. Eala, fresh off a month-long vacation in the Philippines, proved rusty especially in her usually crisp return game with multiple errors including six double faults, most of which came in the last two sets.
Up next for the 26-year-old Ms. Vondrousova is WTA No. 28 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the stacked WTA 1000 tourney, in the second round.
Ms. Kostyuk, who also beat Ms. Eala in the Italian Open last summer, gained a bye in the first round as the No. 24 seed in the 96-player tourney.
After the grass and clay campaigns in Europe, it’s the first hardcourt tournament for Ms. Eala since the Miami Open, where she became the first WTA semifinalist in history and barged into the Top 100 rankings, as part of her preparations for the US Open on Aug. 24 to Sept. 7 in New York.
Ms. Eala, who climbed to No. 65 in the WTA rankings from No. 69 despite the loss, will have two more tournaments in North America albeit it’s still to be announced before her third Grand Slam main draw stint in the Big Apple.
She’s hoping to finally score a breakthrough main draw win in the US Open, where she was a former junior singles champion, after foiled attempts in the French Open and the Wimbledon. — John Bryan Ulanday
