Alex Eala came through a comfortable victory against British wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
It’s safe to say Eala has not had the most successful Asian swing so far, but she has a very good opportunity to turn her form around at the WTA 500 event.
The Filipina star is the seventh highest-ranked player in the tournament following Maja Chwalinska’s withdrawal, and she will compete against the likes of Elena Rybakina and Diana Shnaider.
Eala looked impressive as she raced to a 6-1, 6-2 victory against the British star to set up a second round tie against Australian Talia Gibson.
More Alex Eala news
Speaking after the match, Eala said: “Thank you, thank you everybody. I think it was super important today to be focused on every single point. Playing against Mika for the first time was a great experience and I am sure we will meet many, many more times.
“I think she has a really good level and I’ll see her many more times on Tour. I think it was super important to be focused, especially in the first round, and try to keep the intensity up.”
Eala was then asked how she dealt with Stojsavljevic’s big serve, as the 17-year-old already stands at six foot and one inch.
“I think it’s a part of my style. She’s a great server. I think that’s one of the key points of the match today,” said Eala about her returning.
“They were the things that made it a bit more difficult for me, so I’m really happy that I was able to do that. Thank you to the Japanese fans for being so hospitable.”
Eala will now look ahead to a tie against Gibson, who she is yet to lose against in the sport.
However, the pair are yet to play at WTA Tour level and they have not played since 2023.
Eala’s victories against Gibson came at a W25 event in England and a W40 event in Spain, both of which took place in the 2023 season.
The Filipina star currently sits at world No 18 in the rankings, 18 places above Gibson, so she will be the favourite to win the second round match.
Should she defeat the Australian, Eala will likely play Shnaider in the quarterfinal, the star who knocked her out of the second round of the Ningbo Open.
She is also in the same half of the draw as Jasmine Paolini, Naomi Osaka, Alycia Parks, and Kimberly Birrell, so advancing through to the latter stages will not be easy for the 21-year-old.
