Alex Eala advanced past France's Varvara Gracheva with a gritty 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 triumph in the semifinals of the Eastbourne Open on Thursday. This victory marks the second time this year that Eala has bested Gracheva,

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

When tennis powers downgraded the storied WTA tournament at Eastbourne, on the south coast of the U.K., fans and business owners in the town feared the consequences. It went from a 500-level event to a 250,