Latest news with #Ostapenko
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.
GMA Network
3 days ago
- Sport
- GMA Network
Alex Eala advances to Eastbourne Open quarterfinals as Ostapenko retires due to injury
Alex Eala booked a spot in the Eastbourne Open quarterfinals after Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko sustained an injury in their Round of 16 match on Wednesday. Ostapenko dominated Eala in the first set, 6-0, before the Filipina player evened the match in the second set, 6-2. Eala had a slim 3-2 lead in the third set before Ostapenko retired due to an apparent ankle injury. "It's never a good feeling to finish a match like that. I hope everything's okay with her because it was a really tough battle today and I think both of us were on the brink. It could have been anyone's match," Eala said in an interview. "I wish her a speedy recovery and I'm super happy to be able to play again in this beautiful place." Prior to this, Eala made quick work of Lucia Bronzetti in the first round of the main draw. —JKC, GMA Integrated News
South Wales Guardian
31-05-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Iga Swiatek's bid for fifth French Open boosted by win and Jelena Ostapenko exit
Swiatek swept into the fourth round and has yet to drop a set after beating Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5. The defending champion feared she would meet her nemesis, Jelena Ostapenko, who has remarkably beaten Swiatek in all six of their career meetings. 24 matches won in a row in Paris 🧡#RolandGarros @iga_swiatek — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2025 But Latvian Ostapenko, the 2017 winner in Paris, was beaten 6-2 6-2 by Elena Rybakina to rob Roland Garros of a grudge match for the ages in the last 16. Asked if she had a preference about who to play, while the Ostapenko match was still in progress, Swiatek smiled: 'No. Am I a good liar? Let's say it doesn't matter, really. Oh my God. I couldn't play poker!' Swiatek is without a title since this time last year and has slipped to number five in the world. But the Pole has yet to run into any difficulty as she stretched her winning streak at Roland Garros to 24 matches. Aryna Sabalenka, the top-ranked player by some distance, is many people's favourite to win her first French Open title. But the Belarusian was keen to heap the pressure on to Swiatek's shoulders after beating Olga Danilovic 6-2 6-3. 'It's tough to predict in woman's tennis, you know,' she said. 'Let's just leave it on Iga since she won it, what, three times in a row, right? I will just leave it for her.' Sabalenka will face American Amanda Anisimova, the 16th seed, on Sunday. Last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini, the fourth seed from Italy, is through after a 6-4 6-1 win over Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva Qinwen Zheng's match with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko was temporarily halted after a spectator injured themselves in the stands. The Chinese eighth seed was a set and a break up at the time and eventually won 6-4 6-3. In the men's draw, American 12th seed Tommy Paul came through his second five-setter this week, beating Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7) 3-6 6-3. Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti dropped the first set against Argentina's Mariano Navone but went through in four. In the night match, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz also needed four sets to beat Bosnian Damir Dzumhur. The Spaniard won 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-4 and said: 'The first two sets were under control but then he decided to play deeper and more aggressive. Defending champ locks his place in R4 🔒#RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2025 'My energy went down but I had to give everything I had inside. I'm proud to get the win in the end. 'That's why it's difficult to win grand slams, because you have to keep your focus over three or four hours.' French 14th seed Arthur Fils has withdrawn from the tournament with a back injury, giving Russia's Andrey Rublev a walkover into round four.
Leader Live
31-05-2025
- Sport
- Leader Live
Iga Swiatek's bid for fifth French Open boosted by win and Jelena Ostapenko exit
Swiatek swept into the fourth round and has yet to drop a set after beating Romanian Jaqueline Cristian 6-2 7-5. The defending champion feared she would meet her nemesis, Jelena Ostapenko, who has remarkably beaten Swiatek in all six of their career meetings. 24 matches won in a row in Paris 🧡#RolandGarros @iga_swiatek — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2025 But Latvian Ostapenko, the 2017 winner in Paris, was beaten 6-2 6-2 by Elena Rybakina to rob Roland Garros of a grudge match for the ages in the last 16. Asked if she had a preference about who to play, while the Ostapenko match was still in progress, Swiatek smiled: 'No. Am I a good liar? Let's say it doesn't matter, really. Oh my God. I couldn't play poker!' Swiatek is without a title since this time last year and has slipped to number five in the world. But the Pole has yet to run into any difficulty as she stretched her winning streak at Roland Garros to 24 matches. Aryna Sabalenka, the top-ranked player by some distance, is many people's favourite to win her first French Open title. But the Belarusian was keen to heap the pressure on to Swiatek's shoulders after beating Olga Danilovic 6-2 6-3. 'It's tough to predict in woman's tennis, you know,' she said. 'Let's just leave it on Iga since she won it, what, three times in a row, right? I will just leave it for her.' Sabalenka will face American Amanda Anisimova, the 16th seed, on Sunday. Last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini, the fourth seed from Italy, is through after a 6-4 6-1 win over Ukrainian Yuliia Starodubtseva Qinwen Zheng's match with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko was temporarily halted after a spectator injured themselves in the stands. The Chinese eighth seed was a set and a break up at the time and eventually won 6-4 6-3. In the men's draw, American 12th seed Tommy Paul came through his second five-setter this week, beating Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7) 3-6 6-3. Italian eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti dropped the first set against Argentina's Mariano Navone but went through in four. In the night match, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz also needed four sets to beat Bosnian Damir Dzumhur. The Spaniard won 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-4 and said: 'The first two sets were under control but then he decided to play deeper and more aggressive. Defending champ locks his place in R4 🔒#RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 30, 2025 'My energy went down but I had to give everything I had inside. I'm proud to get the win in the end. 'That's why it's difficult to win grand slams, because you have to keep your focus over three or four hours.' French 14th seed Arthur Fils has withdrawn from the tournament with a back injury, giving Russia's Andrey Rublev a walkover into round four.
