Top seed Alex Eala beat Thailand's Patcharin Cheapchandej 6-1, 6-0 in the Asian Games women's singles round of 16 on Monday, after rain pushed the match indoors in Nagoya.
The match was set for an outdoor show court at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center but was moved to Indoor Court C. The weather delayed it by about five hours, The Manila Times reports.
Once play began, the world No. 18 raced to 4-0. Cheapchandej, ranked outside the top 500, broke in the fifth game. Eala took the next two games to close the set, the last on back-to-back return errors, GMA News reports. She swept the second set and finished with an ace.
It was a clean bounce-back after an early exit at the Singapore Open. It was also Eala's second win over Cheapchandej. She beat her 6-3, 6-4 in the round of 16 at an ITF W25 event in Chiang Rai in 2022, on the way to the title.
Next is Chinese Taipei's Joanna Garland, the No. 8 seed, in the quarterfinals. Eala is now one win from a medal. The singles gold also carries an LA28 Olympic spot.
Eala also opens her women's doubles campaign with Shaira Rivera on Tuesday against Hong Kong's Lai Ching Laam and Kallista Liu.
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