Alexandra Eala's winning run extended to seven matches after she reached the last 16 of the Canadian Open following a three-set triumph against Caty McNally. 

For the third straight match, Eala was taken the distance, but she was once again able to come out on top as she beat her American opponent 6-3 5-7 6-4 in Toronto. 

The 21-year-old did, however, struggle on serve in the opening exchanges of the first set, allowing McNally to break twice before repeating the trick herself in the sixth game. 

Eala then reeled off the final four games to take the lead, but McNally responded in the second as the pattern of the match continued with both players failing to hold on serve. 

There were a total of seven breaks throughout the second set, but McNally got the decisive one in the 12th game to ensure the match would go the distance. 

However, a solitary break at the beginning of the third set was all Eala needed, and she confirmed her two-hour-and-39-minute win when McNally lashed a forehand long. 

"I think I survived that one," Eala said on court after her win. "It was so tough. I want to thank Caty for a great match and for being a great sport.

"It's one of those matches that could've gone either way. It was down to details and a little bit of luck. It was a great match."

Eala will now take on Belinda Bencic for a spot in the quarter-finals following her 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victory against Taylor Townsend later in the day. 

The run continues

Alexandra Eala defeats McNally 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to win her seventh match in a row and reach the Round of 16 in Toronto.#NBO26 pic.twitter.com/00WpYI9P8p

— wta (@WTA) August 8, 2026

Eala will also be joined in the next round by Coco Gauff, who delivered an impressive display against Maria Sakkari to win in straight sets. 

Gauff emerged a 6-1 6-4 victor in one hour and 16 minutes, with her reward a clash with qualifier Alina Korneeva, who has already dumped out Iva Jovic and Emma Navarro. 

Naomi Osaka, the runner-up at the Canadian Open last year, also edged closer to winning her first title at the tournament after comfortably dispatching Elise Mertens. 

Osaka will now take on home favourite Leylah Fernandez following her 6-1 6-2 win against Mertens. It will be the third career meeting between the pair. 

Eala goes the distance as Gauff begins her title charge

Following on from winning her first WTA Tour-level title at the Washington Open, Eala has maintained her momentum in Toronto, though she has made a habit of taking her matches to three sets in the process. 

In fact, only Mirra Andreeva (84h 56m) has spent more time on court in WTA main draws than Eala (82h 5m) so far in 2026, but she was able to reach her fifth career WTA-1000 round of 16 and her fourth of 2026, after Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami.

And she is certainly a player in form. Since the start of the grass swing in June, only Barbora Krejcikova (15) has claimed more WTA-level match wins than Eala's 14, and she will be hopeful of continuing that in her first-ever meeting with Bencic. 

But Gauff will also want to have her say. Since the start of the 2020 season, only Iga Swiatek (134) and Aryna Sabalenka (125) have claimed more WTA-1000 main draw match wins than Gauff (115). 

The American also reached a 35th career WTA-1000 round of 16. Since 1990, only Martina Hingis has reached more rounds of 16 at Tier I/WTA-1000 events before turning 23.