Eala defeated France’s Vavara Gracheva 7-5 2-6 6-3 over two hours and 33 minutes to tick off another milestone in her rising career.
Last March saw the Filipino reach the Miami Open semi-final after defeating three Grand Slam champions – Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek – along the way.
“I’m super happy because it was a tough match,” said Eala – who is due to face reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova on Tuesday.
“There were some tough moments, she was playing well but I’m really happy with winning. It was a challenge for both of us physically and mentally. We both came from qualifiers. I had to wait for my opportunity. it’s a big achievement for me today.
“I’m so overwhelmed with emotion. There’re so many things going through my head but primarily I’m just trying to enjoy the win.”
Eala and Gracheva exchanged five breaks in a tight first set that went the Filipino’s way.
The second promised to tell a similar story as Eala went 2-0 up, only for Gracheva to take the next six games to tie the scores.
More breaks were traded at the start of the decider before Eala clinched a priceless hold on her sixth chance to earn a 4-3 lead.
From there, the world No.74 scored a vital break to serve out the match and seal her win.
In the other semi-final, Maya Joint added to her burgeoning reputation by downing world No.53 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
The Australian – who defeated British No.1 Emma Raducanu in the previous round – got the better of Pavlyuchenkova 7-5 6-3 to seal a first WTA Tour final on grass.
I’m super excited, said Joint. “At the beginning of the week I didn’t think I’d get to the final but I’ve learned to be comfortable on the grass and that gives me confidence going into the next week.
“I’m just trying to stay positive and have fun out there. It’s going to be a good match. I’m excited to play another match here and it’ll be really good.”
Elsewhere, American Jenson Brooksby became the first lucky loser in the history of Eastbourne to reach the final after his comeback victory over Ugo Humbert.
Brooksby beat Humbert 6-7(6) 6-4 6-4 after just under three hours of play to book a meeting with either Taylor Fritz or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
“I thought I stayed really resilient, even after a tough first set,” reflected Brooksby. “I let it slip and he raised his level, and I thought I did a good job of staying with it. As a lucky loser there was much lesser pressure, except today, but as a whole in the main draw it’s a lot less pressure. I didn’t expect to be in the main draw and then you get an opportunity – I just want to make the most of it.”
“It means a lot for me to be in stages like this – not just skill-wise, but physically – this is my favourite thing in the world – big matches in front of big crowds – and I’m very happy to be playing again tomorrow”.
In men’s doubles, the all-British pair of Lloyd Glasspool and Julian Cash clinched their second title in as many weeks in Eastbourne.
The dynamic duo defeated Ariel Behar and Joran Vliegen 6-4 7-6(5) after an hour and 26 minutes.
Glasspool and Cash sealed the deciding break in the last game of the opening set ahead of confirming their triumph on their second match point, two weeks on from winning at Queen’s.
Cash said: It’s been crazy three weeks for us – we’ve reached three finals in a row and I felt I haven’t had a minute to breathe. I want to say thanks to our team for putting in the hours. It’s been a tough shift but we’ve been able to pick up some trophies, and this one’s a special one. This is the tournament where I fell in love with tennis, so to be out here picking up a trophy is a very surreal moment.”
Cash and Glasspool will now switch their focus to The Championships, Wimbledon where they will begin their tournament against Dutch duo Tallon Griekspoor and Botic Van de Zandschulp.
Harriet Dart and Maia Lumsden were denied a place in the women’s doubles final after a close-fought 2-6 7-5 11-9 defeat to Marie Bouzkova and Anna Danilina.
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website
