Top seed Alex Eala will open her Asian Games singles campaign against Thailand's Patcharin Cheapchandej, who beat Pakistan's Mahin Aftab Qureshi 6-1, 6-1 in 53 minutes on Sunday in Nagoya.
Cheapchandej, 31 and ranked outside the top 500, won her round-of-32 match on Court 6 at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center, GMA News reports.
Eala, the world No. 18, had a first-round bye. The two meet in the round of 16 on Monday. Monday's order of play has not been released yet, The Manila Times reports.
They have met before. Eala beat Cheapchandej 6-3, 6-4 in the round of 16 at an ITF W25 event in Chiang Rai in 2022. She then won three more matches, beating Thailand's Luksika Kumkhum in the final, to take the title.
It was a tough opening day for Tennielle Madis, who lost 6-1, 6-0 to Japan's Himeno Sakatsume, the No. 7 seed. Eala also plays women's doubles with Shaira Hope Rivera, starting against Hong Kong's Lai Ching Laam and Kallista Liu.
Eala landed in Nagoya on Saturday after two flight delays. A singles gold would also earn her an LA28 Olympic spot.
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