By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala opened her campaign in the W100 Tokyo on a bright note after crushing hometown bet Kanako Morisaki, 6-4, 6-2, in the first qualifying round in Japan on Sunday, Sept. 3.
Eala, who enjoys a career-high world ranking of No. 195, dominated her Japanese rival with her strong attacks to move a win away from advancing to the main draw round of the $100,000 International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament.
The 18-year-old top Filipina player arranged a meeting with Finland’s Anastasia Kulikova, who cruised to a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over another Japanese in Chisato Kanemaki.
On paper, Eala is ahead in rankings, with the Finnish currently at No. 328 in the world. Kulikova, however, boasts of eight ITF titles with her last one coming last year in the W25 Split in Croatia.
This is Eala’s second $100,000 event this year, having competed in the W100 Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain last July where she played directly into the main draw and managed a semifinal finish.
She is coming off a runner-up finish in the W25 Aldershot in Great Britain two weeks ago.
