ALEXANDRA Eala fought through blustery conditions to secure a commanding 6-1, 6-2 victory over world No. 42 Dayana Yastremska, punching her ticket to the semifinals of the Lexus Eastbourne Open.
Eala’s aggressive returns were a major factor, as she capitalized on seven of her 12 break-point opportunities. This remarkable run makes her the first Filipino woman to ever reach the semifinals of a tour-level grass-court tournament.
The 20-year-old world No. 74 has now defeated four consecutive players ranked above her in the WTA.
After the match, Eala credited her mental approach: “More than anything, it’s just the mentality. With these great players and tough conditions, it’s kind of hard to balance that kind of patience and the will to go for that ball. So I think I did that well throughout the whole week.”
Eala’s next challenge is Varvara Gracheva of France, who advanced when Barbora Krejcikova retired due to a right thigh injury.
Krejcikova, who is set to defend her Wimbledon title soon, expressed her regret, stating she needed to rest and assess the injury.
“I’m very sorry to have to withdraw from my QF today in Eastbourne as I’m having some soreness in my right thigh,” she shared on social media. “I’ve truly enjoyed my time down here the past week and loved being back on the grass.”
Plagued by a back injury that has limited her to only a handful of matches this season, Krejcikova further stated, “I think it’s better, with Wimbledon in the next couple of days, just to rest it and to see what’s going on and to resolve that.”
Meanwhile, Maya Joint became the first Australian woman in 14 years to reach an Eastbourne semifinal, building on her win over Emma Raducanu by defeating Anna Blinkova 6-4, 7-5. She awaits either Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova or Kamilla Rakhimova.
In the men’s ATP event, French fourth seed Ugo Humbert defeated Britain’s Billy Harris 7-6 (4), 6-1 and will face American Jenson Brooksby, who ended local hopes by beating Dan Evans 6-2, 6-3. / From the wires