For the first time, Alex Eala will be playing for the title in the WTA Tour. Eala scored a grindout 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win over Varvara Gracheva of France on Friday to advance to the championship round

Alex Eala of the Philippines and Maya Joint of Australia will battle for the Eastbourne Open title tonight at 8:30 p.m.

Eala quickly raced to a 3-0 lead before Gracheva took her first game, 3-1. Eala extended her lead to 4-1, but Gracheva fought back, winning four straight games to brab the lead at 5-4, mostly by capitalizing on Eala’s errors. Eala responded by tying it at 5-all, then regained momentum to close out the first set in 57 minutes.