Latest news with #NottinghamOpen
Business Recorder
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Business Recorder
Alexandra Eala makes history as first Filipina to reach WTA Tour final
EASTBOURNE: Alexandra Eala became the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA Tour final after beating Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 in the last four at Eastbourne on Friday. Eala survived a tense clash lasting more than two hours to make history in the Wimbledon warm-up event on the grass at Devonshire Park. In a final featuring two of the rising stars of the women's game, the 20-year-old will face Australian teenager Maya Joint on Saturday. Joint, 19, ranked 51 the world, beat Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-3. 'There were tough moments where she was playing well, and I didn't know how to get out of it,' Eala said. 'It was a challenge for both of us, physically and mentally. She's a really solid player, had some moments where she was really dominating. 'The fact that I was able to stay there and wait for my opportunities was a big achievement for me.' Eala's run to the final underlined the world number 74's emergence as one to watch. After coming through qualifying to make the main draw on the south coast, Eala has beaten Lucia Bronzetti, former French Open champion Ostapenko (via retirement), Nottingham Open finalist Dayana Yastremska and France's Gracheva. She burst onto the scene with three shock victories over Grand Slam winners Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek to reach the Miami Open semi-finals in March. Eala is due to face reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova in the Wimbledon first round on Centre Court on Tuesday. Iga Swiatek cruises past second-seed Paolini to reach first ever grass final But Krejcikova is struggling with a thigh injury that forced her to pull out of the Eastbourne quarter-finals on Thursday, putting the Czech's title defence in doubt. Later on Friday, the Eastbourne ATP semi-finals feature defending champion Taylor Fritz against Spanish sixth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina while French fourth seed Ugo Humbert faces America's Jenson Brooksby.
France 24
a day ago
- Sport
- France 24
Eala makes history as first Filipina to reach WTA Tour final
Eala survived a tense clash lasting more than two hours to make history in the Wimbledon warm-up event on the grass at Devonshire Park. In a final featuring two of the rising stars of the women's game, the 20-year-old will face Australian teenager Maya Joint on Saturday. Joint, 19, ranked 51 the world, beat Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-3. "There were tough moments where she was playing well, and I didn't know how to get out of it," Eala said. "It was a challenge for both of us, physically and mentally. She's a really solid player, had some moments where she was really dominating. "The fact that I was able to stay there and wait for my opportunities was a big achievement for me." Eala's run to the final underlined the world number 74's emergence as one to watch. After coming through qualifying to make the main draw on the south coast, Eala has beaten Lucia Bronzetti, former French Open champion Ostapenko (via retirement), Nottingham Open finalist Dayana Yastremska and France's Gracheva. She burst onto the scene with three shock victories over Grand Slam winners Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek to reach the Miami Open semi-finals in March. Eala is due to face reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova in the Wimbledon first round on Centre Court on Tuesday. But Krejcikova is struggling with a thigh injury that forced her to pull out of the Eastbourne quarter-finals on Thursday, putting the Czech's title defence in doubt. Later on Friday, the Eastbourne ATP semi-finals feature defending champion Taylor Fritz against Spanish sixth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina while French fourth seed Ugo Humbert faces America's Jenson Brooksby.
Evening Standard
a day ago
- Sport
- Evening Standard
Wimbledon 2025: Emma Raducanu to face Mimi Xu in first round as British women handed nightmare draws
Should Raducanu get through that, it will be an extremely tough second-round test, with either 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova or McCartney Kessler, who won the Nottingham Open last week, waiting for the winner.
GMA Network
a day ago
- Sport
- GMA Network
Alex Eala to face Varvara Gracheva in Eastbourne Open semis
Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 24, 2025 Philippines' Alex Eala during her round of 64 match against Poland's Iga Swiatek REUTERS/Juan Medina Alex Eala inched closer to the Eastbourne Open finals as she booked a semis slot after dispatching Dayana Yastremska in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-2, of the said tournament on Thursday. In the semifinals, Eala will face a familiar foe in Varvara Gracheva of France. Gracheva is currently ranked no. 111 by the Women's Tennis Association, although the 24-year old player reached a career-high ranking of no. 39 back in January last year. Eala, meanwhile, is currently ranked 74. Eala and Gracheva faced off just two weeks ago in the first round of the Nottingham Open qualifiers where the Filipina defeated the latter, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Gracheva is the taller player at 5-foot-10, while Eala is at 5-foot-9. Eala is left-handed while Gracheva is a right-handed player. Eala and Gracheva will face off tonight at 6 p.m. —JKC, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
2 days ago
- Sport
- GMA Network
Alex Eala beats Ukrainian foe, barges into Eastbourne Open semis
Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 24, 2025 Philippines' Alex Eala during her round of 64 match against Poland's Iga Swiatek REUTERS/Juan Medina Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala dominated Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine, 6-1, 6-2, on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Eastbourne Open in the United Kingdom. With the victory, Eala will advance to the semifinals where she will face Varvara Gracheva of France. Prior to this, Eala defeated Italy's Lucia Bronzetti in the first round of the Eastbourne Open main draw, while Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia retired during their second round match, which allowed the Filipina to advance to the quarters. Eala and Gracheva met in the second round of the Nottingham Open qualifying draw where the former won, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Eala, however, ended her campaign then in the first round of the main draw. —JKC, GMA Integrated News
