BERLIN was Alex Eala's breakthrough, but she proved it was no fluke as she repeated over world No. 10 Elina Svitolina in the U.S. Capital on Saturday.
Shifting to hard courts, the Filipina world No. 28 replicated her Berlin Open quarterfinal triumph over the second-seeded Ukrainian, 6-3, 6-4, to book just the second WTA 500 semifinal appearance of her career.
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The victory improved Eala's record to 2-0 against Svitolina and an eye-popping 8-4 overall against players in the Top 10 of the world rankings.
Her sixth win against a Top 10 player this year earned her a semifinal date against Naomi Osaka, the world No. 13 who beat Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, in their own semifinal earlier in the evening.
The match, which lasted an hour and 34 minutes, saw Eala convert six of her 16 break points against three breaks by Svitolina. The rising star also survived four aces by the Ukrainian and her own two double faults.
The 21-year-old once again showed composure beyond her years, wrestling back control of the second set after falling behind 1-3. Eala reeled off three straight games to move ahead 4-3 before Svitolina briefly drew level at 4-4, only for the Filipina to eventually close out the match with authority.
That came after Eala cruised through the opening set before the former world No. 3 raised her level in the second and forced the Filipina to weather another tough stretch, a similar narrative she had in her round of 16 win against Leylah Fernandez.
Watch her celebrate the win:
While the Washington DC run is expected to sustain her surge up the WTA rankings, Eala is still in search of her first-ever Tour-level title after winning two WTA125 titles in her young professional career.
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