Eala powers past British wildcard, advances to round 2 in Tokyo

MANILA, October 27 ------ Filipina tennis star Alex Eala marched to the second round of the 2026 Toray Pan Pacific Open after a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 victory over Great Britain's Mika Stojsavljevic at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo.

Eala, who is seeded 8th in the tournament, put together an impressive performance against the British wildcard, dropping just three games and completing the win in an hour and 15 minutes. It was a promising start for the world No. 19 after a poor stretch that saw her win just one match in her last three tournaments. That included a shock first-round defeat to 217th-ranked Chinese qualifier Shi Han at the Wuhan Open this month.

Matched up against the 17-year-old Stojsavljevic, Eala set the tone immediately, breaking the world world No. 411 on her way to winning the first five games. "I try to look at the player separate from the ranking," said Eala. "The ball doesn't know what rank you are. It's just being ready and trying to keep that intensity all the time."

Stojsavljevic finally got on board in the sixth game, unleashing a superb forehand winner to complete a comfortable hold. But Eala took care of business on her serve, taking the opening set in rapid fashion. The Filipina broke Stojsavljevic to start the second set, and then came through with a clutch hold in the second game to take a pivotal 2-0 lead. Eala's grit was in full display as she saved three break points and battled through three deuces, before forcing back-to-back errors from Stojsavljevic to preserve her lead.

They exchanged holds in the next three games, with Eala maintaining a 4-2 advantage. But Eala went up a double-break after Stojsavljevic stumbled in the seventh game. Eala ripped a stunning forehand winner for deuce, before consecutive errors by the British teenager put the Filipina on the brink of victory. Eala went on to seal the deal on her serve. "She's a great server," the Filipina said of her young opponent. "That's one of the things that made it a bit more difficult for me. I'm really happy that I was able to [be aggressive]." "It's a little faster than the court I played on last week," she also said. "It's indoor, comfortable weather, not very hot. I think I'm finding my groove."

Eala will next play Australia's Talia Gibson, the world No. 38 who swept Daria Kasatkina in their own first-round affair. Meanwhile, Eala will no longer play in the doubles after her partner, American Desirae Krawczyk, withdrew due to a back issue.

Number five seed Elise Mertens of Belgium also progressed, beating Japan's Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 6-2. But number two seed Maja Chwalinska and defending champion Belinda Bencic both withdrew from the tournament through injury without playing a match.

Bencic, who was the fourth seed, said her season was over after several ligament tears were discovered in her right foot. "I am still completely unsure when and how this occurred, but it is sadly preventing me from competing here in Tokyo this week and in Hong Kong next week," said the Swiss player.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com