Alex Eala ousts 2nd seed Svitolina to reach DC Open semifinal

MANILA – Alexandra Eala secured her place in the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open semifinals after beating second seed Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 6-4, Saturday in Washington, DC, USA.

The 21-year-old Eala had also beaten the Ukrainian, 6-3, 6-4, on grass at the Berlin Open in June.

"She's such an accomplished player, and I think she's made waves on and off the tennis court for so many reasons. There's so much respect for her for that, and you know I'm really excited. I haven't had much time to think about it, but I will definitely think about it after I get off court," the World No. 28 Filipino said in her on-court interview.

Eala will next face Japanese Naomi Osaka, who prevailed over Italian Elisabeth Coccciaretto, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Eala dethroned defending champion and No. 7 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada, 6-2, 7-6 (1), to reach the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, top seed American Jessica Pegula downed Anna Kalinskaya, 6-3, 7-5, to forge a semifinal duel with fourth seed Diana Shnaider, who won over Liudmila Samsonova, 6-3, 6-4. All three are Russians.

The tournament has a total of $1,637,982 in prize money, with the champion taking home USD252,000 (about PHP15 million).

For now, Eala is already asured of $90,900 (about P5.5 million). (PNA)