Alex Eala in the W100 Tokyo. –ALEX EALA FACEBOOK
MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala took down her Japanese partner Natsumi Kawaguchi to move on to the second round of the W100 Tokyo singles tournament but they formed a potent combo in the doubles division to advance to the quarterfinal.
The Filipino qualifier opened her main draw campaign with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over wildcard Kawaguchi on Tuesday.
Eala beat Finland’s Anastasia Kulikova, 6-2, 6-3 to qualify for the main draw.
The 18-year-old Filipino prodigy, who is currently the Women’s Tennis Association rank No. 195, battles the fifth seed and World No. 111 Kimberly Birrell of Australia on Wednesday afternoon.
Despite beating her partner, Eala and Kawaguchi started their doubles campaign with a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Thais Luksika Kumkhum and Peangtarn Plipuech.
The Filipino-Japanese duo take on No. 3 seeds Natela Dzalamidze of Georgia and Sofya Lansere of Russia in the quarterfinal.
Eala is eyeing her fifth International Tennis Federation singles title and first in the doubles.