MANILA – Filipino Alexandra Eala ousted third seed Japanese Naomi Osaka, 6-4, 6-2, Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington to reach her first WTA 500 final.
The 21-year-old Eala will face American top seed Jessica Pegula, who prevailed over fourth seed Diana Shnaider, 7-5, 6-4, in the other semifinal match.
Pegula defeated Eala, 7-6, 5-7, 6-3 in their first meeting at the WTA 1000 Miami Open semifinals last year.
"I think that my serve can be uncomfortable. I think I try to play around a lot with variety. Of course, it would be great if I had a serve that went 200 kilometers per hour. I'd love that also, but it's a process. Who knows? I'm not going to put a cap on my serve. Maybe I will one day serve 200. You never know (smiling)," Eala said in her post-match press conference.
"I like to look at it as a multi-dimensional thing. I have a variety of weapons in my bag. I think it's also a good thing that I don't rely on my serve alone, although I'm standing by that it's dependable sometimes."
"Going into this tournament, I looked at the list, and it was jam-packed. It was big player after big player after big player. So to be in the final really means a lot to me," said Eala, who dethroned defending champion and No. 7 seed Leylah Fernandez, 6-1, 7-6 (2), to reach the quarterfinal round where she pulled off a 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina.
The champion gets 500 ranking points and USD252,000 in cash, while the runner-up receives 325 ranking points and USD155,000. (PNA)
