Mima Ito advanced to the semifinals in women's table tennis singles, beating Jeon Ji-hee of South Korea in straight sets in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Kasumi Ishikawa, however, failed to reach the final four, falling 4-1 to Singapore's Yu Mengyu.
Ito overwhelmed Jeon 4-0, even taking the fight out of her opponent with her bread-and-butter attack: an array of serves.
"I couldn't be at my best because I couldn't tell what kind of serve she was sending at me," said Jeon, who several times during the matches was spotted looking flustered.
The South Korean player struggled receiving the ball until the end, unable to decipher the type of serve or anticipate the location or read the spin.
"Once a player learns a good serve, they try to increase their ability to repeat it. However, Mima doesn't stick to just one," said her coach Taisuke Matsuzaki.
Her service game continues to make chameleon-like changes as she goes through the match-practice cycle.
This means it is "difficult to count" how many types of serves Ito now has at her disposal, Matsuzaki said. He added she can turn to something she has never practiced before mid-match, as long as she thinks it will be effective against her opponents.
Ito only lost just one game over her first three matches at Tokyo, where she has shown plenty of savvy and strong technique.
Ishikawa looks to team event
Meanwhile, Ishikawa was also trying to capture Japan's first gold medal in the women's singles but bowed out in the quarterfinals.
Ishikawa won the first game, but lost the next four as she struggled in rallies while often being overpowered as she attempted to return Yu's strong shots.
Following the defeat, Japan's captain tried her best to regroup mentally before she competes in the team event, which starts Sunday.
"I aim to put it all out there [in the team event], using everything I've worked on so far," she said.
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