Filipina tennis star Alex Eala continued her remarkable rise on the WTA Tour after defeating world No. 10 and second seed Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 6-4, to reach the semifinals of the Mubadala DC Open on Friday (Saturday morning in Manila).
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| Alex Eala stuns Svitolina, advances to DC Open semis. Photo courtesy: WTA |
The 21-year-old world No. 28 repeated her quarterfinal victory over the Ukrainian veteran from last month's Berlin Open, proving her breakthrough performance on grass was no fluke as she delivered another composed display on hard court.
Eala secured her second career WTA 500 semifinal appearance and improved to 2-0 against Svitolina, while boosting her impressive record to 8-4 against Top 10 opponents.
The Filipina displayed resilience in the second set after falling behind 1-3 before winning three consecutive games to seize a 4-3 advantage.
Svitolina briefly leveled the set at 4-4, but Eala responded with authority by taking the final two games to seal the victory in one hour and 34 minutes.
The win extends Eala's outstanding run in Washington and moves her one step closer to capturing the first WTA Tour-level title of her professional career.
Awaiting Eala in the semifinals is Japan's Naomi Osaka, who advanced after defeating Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the quarterfinals.
Eala, a two-time WTA 125 champion, will now look to continue her giant-killing campaign as she seeks the biggest title of her young career and another milestone for Philippine tennis.
— The Summit Express
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