Alexandra Eala reaches first WTA final in Eastbourne

Alexandra Eala’s historic season continued at the Lexus Eastbourne Open, becoming the first woman from the Philippines to reach a WTA final after a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win over Vavara Gracheva.

The 20-year-old is gearing up for a Wimbledon main-draw debut and could arrive to SW19 with a maiden WTA title under her belt after surviving the Russian-born Frenchwoman in three sets on Friday.

"I'm super happy because that was a tough match and there were some really tough moments," Eala said after the match.

"It was tough physically and mentally because she is a tough player and also came from qualifying."

A graduate from the Rafael Nadal Academy, Eala is proving to be a player for all surfaces after building on her hard-court breakthrough to the Miami Open semifinals and three-set thriller with Iga Swiatek on clay at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Read more: Eala rolls over Dayana Yastremska in Eastbourne for second WTA semifinal

The Quezon City native, who is set to face defending champion Barbora Krejcikova in the first round of Wimbledon next week, had to play through qualifying to reach the Eastbourne finals, dropping just three games against Dayana Yastremska en route to the semis.

Once there, she shook off a tough second set against Gracheva, who received a walkover from Krejcikova in the quarterfinals, to rally in the decider. Eala emerged from two exchanges of breaks in the middle of the third to clinch a crucial 5-3 lead, serving out the semifinal at love.

Eala awaits the winner of the second semifinal between Maya Joint and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.