Eala breezes through Round 16 of Tokyo Open

Sports

ALEX Eala kicked off her Tokyo Open campaign in style as she dumped British wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic, 6-1, 6-2, on Monday, Oct. 26, in Japan.

Seeded eighth in the tournament, the world No. 19 Eala proved too much for the 17-year-old Stojsavljevic, needing just one hour and 15 minutes to end the match.

Stojsavljevic, ranked No. 308 in the world, tried to keep the game close in the second set when she stayed within 2-3. Coming off a second-round exit in the Ningbo Open, Eala went full throttle, winning three straight games for the one-sided win.

In the Round of 16 of the WTA 500 tournament, Eala will take on Australian Talia Gibson, who started her campaign with 6-0, 7-5 victory over Daria Kasatkina.

Gibson is ranked No. 38 in the world.

Eala is looking to bounce back from dismal showings in the Ningbo Open and Wuhan Open. She will have fresher legs in her current competition after she and Fil-American Desirae Krawczyk withdrew in the women’s doubles.(CCM)