Iyala sweeps her Thai rivals to advance to Nagoya Asian Games women's singles quarterfinals

Iyala. (File photo, AFP)

[Reporter Liang Weiming/Comprehensive Report] Although the weather was unfavorable and rain caused delays in the schedule, Alexandra Eala, the hottest professional tennis player, took only 55 minutes to make a strong start at the Nagoya Asian Games, sweeping her Thai opponent Patcharin 6:1, 6:0. Cheapchandej), the number one seed from the Philippines who had a bye in the first round, advanced to the top 8 of women's singles, and her next opponent was Joanna Galen, a Taiwanese-English mixed race.

Ijala, who is only 21 years old, has risen strongly this season. This summer's Wimbledon Championships upset the Polish defending champion Svetek (Iga Swiatek bravely advanced to the top 16. In August, Washington was honored as the first Philippine player in the history of the WTA tour. Currently ranked 18th in the world in women's singles, her popularity has soared. Every time she plays, she always attracts a large number of fans from her compatriots to cheer her enthusiastically. Now she has given up the China Open in Beijing and competes in the Asian Games for the second consecutive time. Not only is she the biggest star at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center in Nagoya City, she is also the top favorite for gold medals. In the first show of the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, the top four of Iyala fought fiercely for 3 sets before narrowly defeating the Chinese star Zheng Qinwen, who finally won the championship, and won the women's singles bronze medal.

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As for Grant Joanna, who is ranked 143 this week, she is competing in the Asian Games for the second time. She was stopped in the top 16 last time. Now she has made a comeback and won the 8th seed. Yesterday, she defeated her Iranian opponent Farzami (Mandegar) 6:1 with two wins. Farzami), if she can keep up her efforts to overthrow Ijala, and advance to the top four, she will guarantee the bronze medal. Last week, Singapore, a WTA500 leveler, reached the top 16 from outside the conference. She said: "It is indeed a tough battle against the top seed. I hope I can play to my strengths and try my best. The win or loss depends on my performance on the day!"