At A Glance
- Alex Eala overcame a huge scare in the third set and frustrated crowd favorite Hayu Kinoshita, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, to advance to the quarterfinal round of the ITF W100 Takasaki in Japan Friday, Nov. 22.
Alex Eala overcame a huge scare in the third set and frustrated crowd favorite Hayu Kinoshita, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, to advance to the quarterfinal round of the ITF W100 Takasaki in Japan Friday, Nov. 22.

The 19-year-old Filipina tennis star showed great resolve to come back from a 2-5 deficit and secure her victory which arranged her a matchup against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
The Asiad bronze medalist earlier swept Kinoshita’s compatriot Ena Koike, 6-2, 6-0.
Sawangkaew, meanwhile, outlasted Norway’s Malene Helgo (6-2, 6-3) and Chinese Taipei’s Chia Yi Tsao (4-6, 6-3, 6-2).
Despite some resistance, Eala delivered big hits against Kinoshita to seal the first set.
Kinoshita found her rhythm and was able to level the score at 3-3 in the second canto then continued the onslaught to force an extension.
From there, the Japanese netter zoomed to a 5-2 lead in the decider but Eala regained her consciousness to turn back the hometown bet.