Alex Eala advanced past France’s Varvara Gracheva with a gritty 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 triumph in the semifinals of the Eastbourne Open on Thursday.

This victory marks the second time this year that Eala has bested Gracheva, having also defeated her in the Nottingham Open qualifiers two weeks earlier. But this latest win carries even more weight, as it propels the 20-year-old into uncharted territory: a WTA final appearance. Eala is seeking her first championship at the elite level of women’s professional tennis.

The semifinal was anything but easy. Eala started strong in the opening set, racing to a commanding 4-1 lead thanks to her aggressive forehands and variety in shot selection. Gracheva, however, responded in kind, stringing together four straight games to flip the momentum and go up 5-4. But Eala kept her composure under pressure. With a well-timed break in the tenth game, she regained control and closed out the set with three consecutive games, 7-5.

Gracheva rebounded strongly in the second set, taking advantage of a visible dip in Eala’s rhythm. The French-Russian player pounced on the Filipino’s string of unforced errors and took the set handily, 6-2, forcing a decider.

With a spot in the final on the line, the third set turned into a war of attrition. Both players held serve early, tied at 3-3 after six tense games. It was Eala who blinked last. She broke Gracheva in the seventh game with a mix of angled returns and heavy baseline play, then held serve to go up 5-3. Sensing her moment, Eala stepped up in the next game and sealed the match with another break, earning one of the biggest victories of her young career.

Eala will face Australia’s Maya Joint, where she will aim to cap her Eastbourne Open campaign with a historic title – one that would make her the first Filipina to win a WTA singles crown.