Eala quickly raced to a 3-0 lead before Gracheva took her first game, 3-1. Eala extended her lead to 4-1, but Gracheva fought back, winning four straight games to brab the lead at 5-4, mostly by capitalizing on Eala’s errors. Eala responded by tying it at 5-all, then regained momentum to close out the first set in 57 minutes.

For the first time, Alex Eala will be playing for the title in the WTA Tour. Eala scored a grindout 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win over Varvara Gracheva of France on Friday to advance to the championship round

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Sunday offered words of encouragement to tennis sensation Alex Eala, following her record-breaking run at the Lexus Eastbourne Open, where she became the first Filipino to reach a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 250 singles final.