Filipina tennis star Alex Eala faces a familiar foe in the Eastbourne Open semifinals after a dominant win over World No. 42 Dayana Yastremska in a stunning 6-1, 6-2 quarterfinal victory.
Eala is preparing for another contest — this time against a familiar opponent in France’s Varvara Gracheva — in the semifinals of the 2025 Lexus Eastbourne Open.
The 20-year-old Filipina is no stranger to Gracheva, having faced and defeated her in the opening round of the Nottingham Open qualifiers just two weeks ago.
Eala triumphed 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in a tight, gritty encounter that set the tone for her breakout grass season.
“Yeah, no, I played her just last week. It was a very, very tough match,” Eala said in a WTA interview. “So I’m expecting the same thing, you know, kind of like a big battle.”
Gracheva, once ranked as high as World No. 39, is currently on a strong comeback trail and has since booked her own path into the Eastbourne semifinals.
For Eala, the upcoming clash represents both a chance to reinforce her grass-court credibility and to continue building on a season already filled with high-stakes matches.
“Of course, I’ve had definitely a few more big matches this year than last year,” she said when asked about her mindset heading into another deep tournament run.
“But not to say that I haven’t had super important matches personally prior, or in the years leading to. So I think just the experience from last year and all the experience that I have kind of in my life, I pour into every match.”
Coming from qualifying and now winning three matches in the main draw plus back-to-back tournament weeks, Eala said she’s still feeling physically strong.
“I think physically I’m quite okay considering coming from quali, you know, and then also having a long couple of weeks prior,” she said.
“So I’m happy. I think I just have to stay focused and keep that mentality going,” she added.
Her confidence also stems from how well she handled the windy Eastbourne conditions in her quarterfinal showing.
“I think with the conditions today it was tough for both of us,” she said of her win over Yastremska.
“So I think I ultimately was able to kind of handle that a bit better than her. Yeah, I think that was it.”
Eala is now just one win away from her first-ever WTA final on grass, but she’s keeping her focus clear: recovery and readiness.
“My priority is to recover and tomorrow I’ll be reset and ready to go,” she said. (ABS-CBN News)