BY REUTERS

Alex Eala defeated American Kayla Day, 6-2, 6-3, in the semifinals of the Guadalajara 125 Open early Saturday (Philippine time) in Mexico to advance to the tournament finals.

This marks Eala’s second appearance in a WTA final, following her run at the Eastbourne Open last June.

The Filipina tennis ace was trailing 0-2 in the first set but rallied to win six consecutive games and take the lead.

Eala then secured the first two games of the second set before the 25-year-old Day claimed back-to-back games to level the set. The world no. 75, however, regained control and won the next three games before Day halted her momentum. Still, Eala managed to come back and closed out the match against the world no. 418, wrapping up the set in an hour and eight minutes.

Earlier in the tournament, Eala dispatched Arianne Hartono, Varvara Lepchenko, and Nicole Fossa Huergo to reach the semifinals.

Eala will face world no. 134 Panna Udvardy of Hungary in the finals as she aims for her first WTA title.