Alexandra Eala defeats Naomi Osaka to reach Mubadala DC Open final, Washington, D.C.; faces Pegula in final

Alexandra Eala shuts down Naomi Osaka to reach women’s final at Mubadala DC Open

The Filipina star claimed another impressive win over a highly rated oppponent, dismissing Japanese star Osaka in straight sets on Saturday, 1 August. Learn more on Olympics.com

Alexandra Eala left no doubt about her women’s singles title ambitions at the Mubadala DC Open , defeating Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka in the semi-finals on Saturday (1 August).

The Filipina star with a growing following in the United States produced a dominant exhibition of tennis in Washington D.C., dismissing the World no. 13 in straight sets: 6-4, 6-2 .

Her dominance was evident in the service statistics, with the 21-year-old winning 71 percent of first-serve points, and 79 percent of second-serve points, while only giving away one double fault the entire match.

Osaka was only able to break Eala once in the first set, leveling the score at 2-2, before Eala broke back at 5-4 and closed out the set on service.

By then, the momentum was with the Filipina star, who broke Osaka twice in the second set to the take the mach.

Advancing through to the women’s singles final in Washington D.C, she’ll face World no. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States of America on Sunday (2 August).

Pegula defeated Diana Shnaider 7-5, 6-4 to reach the final herself, and will expect to play home court advantage.

Then again, Eala’s fanbase might very well rival her own in the U.S. capital, as the “it” girl of Southeast Asian tennis chases her first tour-level singles title.

“Going into this tournament, I looked at the list, and it was jam-packed," Eala told the press. “It was big player after big player after big player. So to be in the final really means a lot to me.

“I am really happy with how I performed and how I’ve conducted myself on court against this caliber of players. So I really hope to keep the momentum moving, not just at this tournament, but for the rest kind of the hard-court swing.”

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