■It was a spectacular first WTA victory for 18-year-old Sara Saito. Against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro who reached the third round at this year's Wimbledon and US Open, she dominated from start to finish and won convincingly in 1 hour and 14 minutes. Her opponent had three break points, but she was able to survive with her powerful serves. “My first serves were very good and I watched my opponent's return positions and tried not to let her return comfortably. I was able to serve well even at deuce or my opponent's break points. “My serves were perfect score of 100'' she said proudly.

■As the runner-up at the All Japan Championships last week, she struggled under the pressure of being the No. 1 seed. After winning the closely fought semi-final match, she said, “There were many moments where I felt like my heart was going to break.” “It was tougher than I expected,'' she added. Because of that experience, she is able to compete in this tournament as a Wild Card and as a challenger without any nervousness. She said she was “a little nervous'' in her service game at 5-2 in the second set, which put her on the cusp of winning her first WTA match, but she ended the match with her head held high. Looking back on that moment, she said with a smile, “My coach and the people around me were like -Oh, were you nervous?”

■“I played very well, so if I can play like this every match, I think I can compete against the top 100 players,'' she said, gaining confidence. Her highest ranking so far is 156 which she achieved in July of this year. She has set a goal of reaching “the top 100 within this year,'' but if she keeps playing like this, it won't take long for her to break into the 100.