Philippine Embassy and Filipino fans in Tokyo cheer on Alex Eala as she reaches Toray Pan Pacific Open quarter-finals

Ambassador Mylene Garcia-Albano and Philippine Embassy staff cheered Alex Eala's opening win at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, and Eala, who thanked her kababayan in Japan, has since beaten Talia Gibson to set up a quarter-final against Diana Shnaider.

The Philippine Embassy in Japan turned out in full force to cheer on Alex Eala at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. The Filipina tennis star has now reached the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 tournament.

Philippine Ambassador to Japan Mylene J. Garcia-Albano, together with embassy personnel and their families, watched Eala's opening match on 26 October at the Ariake Coliseum in Koto, Tokyo. Eala defeated British wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.

"Maraming salamat mga kababayan"

In her post-match interview, Eala thanked her Filipino and international fans, including the local community in Japan, the embassy said.

"Maraming salamat mga kababayan! Ramdam ko talaga yung suporta ninyo at pagmamahal ninyo sa akin. (Thank you very much to my fellow Filipinos. I really feel your support and love.) Salamat and arigato gozaimasu to all the other fans, and the Japanese fans for being so hospitable."

Ambassador Garcia-Albano congratulated Eala on the win and conveyed her prayers and continued support for Eala's upcoming matches. Also at the match were Madame Akiko Endo, wife of Kazuya Endo, who is a former Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines and now Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and their daughter.

Comeback against Gibson

Eala then came from a set down to beat Australia's Talia Gibson 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the round of 16 on Wednesday night, ABS-CBN News reported. She fired nine aces and broke Gibson six times in a match that lasted an hour and 53 minutes.

After the match, Eala again thanked the flag-waving Filipino fans at the venue, noting there were more people in the stands that evening. "Of course the support helps a lot all the time," she said. "It creates a great atmosphere and I think there was a bit of back and forth within the crowd."

Next up: Shnaider

Eala will play Russia's Diana Shnaider, the world No. 13, in the quarter-final. According to ABS-CBN News, Shnaider defeated Eala when they met recently at the Ningbo Open.

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