Eala makes history for Philippines by reaching Eastbourne final
EASTBOURNE, England: Alexandra Eala became the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA Tour final as she beat fellow qualifier Varvara Gracheva 7-5 2-6 6-3 on the Eastbourne grass on Friday.
The 20-year-old left-hander, ranked 74th in the world, edged a tight first set before losing five games in a row in the second as the match appeared to be slipping away.
But she regrouped in the decider and survived a tough seventh game before breaking her French opponent's serve to lead 5-3. She then enjoyed a love service game hold to seal victory.
In Saturday's final she will face 19-year-old Australian Maya Joint who beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5 6-3.
It will be the youngest Eastbourne final since 1981 when Tracy Austin faced fellow American Andrea Jaeger.
"I'm super happy because that was a tough match and there were some really tough moments," an emotional Eala, who is based in Mallorca and trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy, said on court.
"It was tough physically and mentally because she is a tough player and also came from qualifying."
Eala's run will not have gone unnoticed by reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, who has been drawn to play her in the first round at the All England Club next week.
Krejcikova reached the quarter-finals at Eastbourne but withdrew with a thigh injury on Thursday.
Joint continued her impressive run as she reached her first WTA final on grass, coming from 5-3 behind in the opening set against Pavlyuchenkova to take control.
"I'm very excited," the 51st-ranked Joint said on court. "I've learned to love playing on grass this week."
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