THE chase is down to one last match for Alex Eala.
The Filipina tennis sensation dispatched former world No. 1 and third seed Naomi Osaka, 6-4, 6-2, to reach the first WTA 500 final of her young career at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington on Sunday.
In her first career meeting against the power-hitting world No. 13 from Japan, the 21-year old Eala made the first of her four breaks at 4-3 in the first set and never let up to wrap up the match in one hour and 16 minutes of thrilling tennis.
READ What's behind Eala's penchant for taking down foes in Top 10?
Now only world No. 3 Jess Pegula stands between Eala and the first WTA Tour-level title of a career highlighted so far by two WTA 125 crowns and a maiden WTA 250 finals appearance at the Eastbourne Open last year where she lost to Maya Joint.
The tournament top seed, however, is expected to be a tough hurdle. It was Pegula who stopped the Filipina on her tracks the first time she made a phenomenal run in the WTA Tour in the semifinals of the 2025 Miami Open.
But judging from her performance against Osaka, Eala is capable of anything as she rides a wave of momentum and confidence with the backing of a huge crowd of mostly Filipina migrants in the US capital.
In a match that looked too close to call when it started, Eala found her opening at 4-3 and never let it slip. The Filipina broke Osaka in the 8th game to create a cushion in the first set, then stormed to a 3-1 lead in the second.
Osaka briefly stayed within striking distance at 3-2 before Eala pulled away from the sixth game onward, never allowing the Japanese star to find her rhythm.
That impressive win sustained a phenomenal run that saw Eala take out second seed and former world No. 3 Elina Svitolina, defending champion Leylah Fernandez, and Olympic medalist Qinwen Zheng of China.
Her win over world No. 10 Svitolina raised her record to 8-4 (win-loss) against players in the Top 10 in the world rankings this season.
No other player outside the Top 10 has more than three wins.
The DC Open marked the start of Eala's North American hard-court swing following an eventful grass-court season that saw her reach the Wimbledon round of 16 - her best finish in a Grand Slam so far.
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