Australian fifth seed Kimberly Birrell sent Alex Eala packing after scoring a 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory yesterday in the W100 Tokyo women’s singles competitions at the Ariake Tennis Center in Tokyo.
Their round-of-16 encounter lasted two hours and 41 minutes.
Though she got knocked out in singles play, Eala can still win the doubles crown alongside Natsumi Kawaguchi.
Birrell came into the match with Eala rated No. 111 in the world.
Rated No. 195, Eala got into the main draw after beating Kanako Morisaki and Finland’s Anastasia Kulikova in the qualifying rounds.
In the round-of-32, Eala beat her doubles pal Kawaguchi.
Eala is using the W100 as part of her buildup for the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, scheduled 23 September to 8 October.
Eala returns to action Thursday with Kawaguchi in doubles as they battle the third-seed Georgian pair of Natela Dzalamitze and Sofya Lansere in the quarterfinal round.
