Belinda Bencic praised for what she said to Filipino crowd after beating Alex Eala at Canadian Open

Belinda Bencic has been praised over what she said to the Canadian Open crowd after defeating Alex Eala in Toronto.

Bencic, the tournament's 12th seed, produced a display of the highest quality to secure a 6-4 6-0 victory.

The Swiss number one's exceptional ball-striking was on full display, and she overcame a rally from Philippines star Eala in the first set after the 21-year-old had pulled the scores back to 4-4 on break point.

From there, Bencic won a total of eight consecutive games to book her place in the quarter-final, where she will take on two-time Grand Slam winner Coco Gauff.

Bencic, the reigning Olympic women's singles champion and 2015 Canadian Open winner, is no stranger to Toronto, and a second victory there will no doubt make her among the key contenders to watch when the US Open gets underway later this month.

Her fourth round opponent Eala has been backed by huge crowds throughout her run in Toronto, having sold out her second round match against Alycia Parks within hours of it being announced when she would be playing.

One vendor has changed food offerings to cater for the large Filipino contingent in attendance, and a number of other players have praised the support that Eala has been receiving throughout the tournament.

READ MORE: Alex Eala match triggers Canadian Open organisers to make big tournament change

Bencic was no different after her victory on Sunday night and sent a message of thanks to the crowd, describing it as 'very nice' to be able to play in front of them despite the fact they were mostly supporting her opponent.

"I know most of you guys were cheering for Alex, but I still have to say it was very nice to play in front of you all," she said in her on-court interview. "Thank you so much for the great crowd tonight.

"And thank you to those who were cheering for me as well. It was super nice to play here tonight.

"It's super special [to win in front of her family and daughter, who were in attendance]. I'm super happy for the mums who do really well, and I think we take inspiration from each other.

"I'm really happy about that but, at the end of the day, on the court we don't really think about that. We're still athletes, and trying to do our best. It's always super nice to create memories with the family on the tour, but on the court I just try to play tennis."

'Super happy with the run I've had' - Eala reacts to Canadian Open exit

In her own press conference following her defeat to Bencic, Eala chose to look at the positive side and said she would now rest and recover ahead of the Cincinnati Open, where she should be playing her opening match on Monday at the earliest.

"Tough one today - I think Belinda put me in some really tough situations. She played very well," Eala said.

"Overall, really good week. I'm super happy with the run that I've had. Going to try and recover and come back out hot.

"The atmosphere this whole week has been incredible. It's hard to describe to other people the feeling of being in that stadium with the fans and all the love. I'm super grateful for the experiences I've had in Toronto, it's been an amazing debut. I'll carry these memories with me for a very long time.

"I learned that they are very passionate [in Toronto], very kind. It's very multicultural, so it's a mixing pot of cultures, and personalities, and passions, I guess. So it's nice to see tennis be a medium for them to come together and celebrate the things they love.

"For example, the Filipino community, I know the Turkish community came out for Zeynep [Sonmez, who reached the second round]. Of course, for your hometown heroes they showed up. So an amazing, amazing experience, yeah."