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| Alex Eala made it to her first WTA Tour final. |
MANILA--Alex Eala once again got the better of French opponent Varvara Gracheva in another three-set finish, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, to enter the final of the Lexus Eastbourne Open on Friday at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in Eastbourne, England.
Eala bounced back from a lethargic second set to get her second straight win against Gracheva two weeks apart.
Eala looked to be on pace of a quicker finish against Gracheva as she raced to a 4-1 lead in the first set, but the latter won the next four games to take a 5-4 lead.
Eala regained her composure and won the next three games to steal Set 1 from Gracheva.
The Filipina tennis ace then won back-to-back games to open Set 2 only for the French rival to take the next six to force a Set 3.
Eala race to a 3-1 lead in the final frame, but Gracheva won the next two to tie the set at three games apiece.
Eala closed it out by winning the last three games of the third set.
The win made Eala the first Filipina ever to reach a WTA Tour final with fellow teen sensation Maya Joint now standing in her way for what could be her biggest title win.
The 19-year-old Australian tennister set the championship date on Saturday with the 20-year-old Filipina wunderkind by beating Nastia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, 7-5, 6-3, in the other semifinal.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
