Just like that, Alex Eala is now one win away from bringing home an Asian Games medal.
After earning a bye in the opening round, Eala finally made her appearance on Monday at the 3,502-seat Center Court of the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center — and she did not disappoint.
Living up to her billing as the tournament’s top seed, Eala easily trounced Thailand’s Patcharin Cheapchandej, 6-1, 6-0.
The 31-year-old Cheapchandej was dominant in the opening round, where she blasted Pakistan’s Mahin Qureshi, 6-1, 6-1. But the world No. 517 Thai soon realized she was out of her depth against the world No. 18 Eala, who needed just 55 minutes to secure the victory.
The 21-year-old Eala — who bagged bronze medals in women’s singles and mixed doubles at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou — will clash with eighth seed Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals.
The winner will be guaranteed at least a bronze medal.
The 25-year-old British-Taiwanese player is ranked No. 143 in the world.
In women’s doubles, the Bangkok Southeast Asian Games bronze medal-winning pair of Tennielle Madis and Stefi Aludo got past Indonesia’s Anjali Junarto and Meydiana Reinnamah in the opening round, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
The 19-year-old Madis and 18-year-old Aludo, both incoming freshmen at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, advanced to the second round, where they will face a tough battle against fifth seeds Chao-Hao-Ching and Wu Fang-Hsien of Chinese Taipei.
