ALEX Eala began her campaign at the W100 Tokyo qualifiers with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over home bet Kanako Morisaki on Sunday.
Eala, who has won two ITF singles titles since June, is eyeing a place in the main draw against 9-seed Anastasia Kulikova on Monday.
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This stint in Tokyo is the first of four Asian stops for Eala in the next couple of weeks.
“First win of this Asian swing, here at the venue of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Onward and upward.” wrote Eala on social media.
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The main draw is bannered by top-seed and WTA No. 81 Nao Hibino of Japan.
Recently, Eala breached the Top 200 in the WTA rankings, moving to No. 195 in women’s singles.
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