By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Alex Eala survived Korean Park Sohyun, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5, to barge in the main draw of the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships 2023 in Osaka, Japan on Sunday, Sept. 10.
Eala bounced back from a first-set stumble then held her ground against her older rival to earn a shot in the WTA250 tournament.
Her victory came after dumping Mexico’s Fernanda Contreras Gomez, 6-3, 6-4, in the first qualifying round.
With the win, the 18-year-old Eala arranged a first-round meeting with hometown bet Himeno Sakatsume.
On paper, Eala boasts of a higher ranking at No. 195 compared to Sakatsume’s No. 199.
Sakatsume finished in the third round qualifying of the recent US Open and was coming off a second round loss in the W100 Tokyo last week.
Eala also competed in the W100 Tokyo, but had to go through two qualifying round matches before losing in the second round in the main draw.
