ALEX Eala threw a party for one to open her 20th Asian Games campaign, dominating Thailand’s Cheapchandej, 6-1, 6-0, in the women’s single at Indoor Court C of the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center on Monday afternoon.
Proudly wearing the Philippine flag on her chest, the world No. 18 and tournament top seed needed less than an hour and gave up just a single game to hurdle her round-of-16 assignment in her second Asiad appearance.
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Eala now awaits the winner of the match between world No. 83 Joanna Gardland of Chinese Taipei, the eighth seed, and world No. 1022 Mandegar Farzami of Iran for her quarterfinal opponent.
Taking the ball early and leaving her opponent off-guard became the key for the Filipina, who started strong to open a 4-0 lead and was able to sustain her momentum all throughout the match that lasted just 56 minutes.
The game environment was quite different from Eala’s usual packed crowd in the WTA Tour as it was played in an indoor practice court after matches scheduled in the bigger open courts, including Eala's, were rained out.
The match was initially scheduled for 11 a.m.but was pushed back to 4 p.m.and was put on a different court with no crowd.
The 21-year-old is the favorite to win the gold medal after the withdrawal of several WTA mainstays from Japan, China, and Indonesia. Should Eala win the gold medal, she also secures a quota place in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
As for her personal record, Eala aims to surpass her double bronze finish in 2023 Hangzhou in the women’s singles and mixed doubles.
This time, though, Eala will play women’s singles and women’s doubles with a first-time teammate in Shaira Rivera.
The other Top 100 players to watch in the draw are Shuai Zhang of China, No. 55, Yuliya Putinserva of Kazakhstan, No. 79, and Xiyu Wang of China at No. 83, among others. They are the second, third, and fourth seeds.
The best in the region such as world No. 1 Elena Rybakina, Naomi Osaka, and Janice Tjenn skipped the tournament to play for the mandatory China Open.
Eala, meanwhile, chose to fly the flag at the Asian Games at the risk of a penalty from the WTA. No specific consequences from the WTA have been disclosed as of this writing.
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