Philippines' Alexandra Eala serves to Poland's Iga Swiatek during their 2025 WTA Tour Madrid Open tennis tournament second round singles match at the Caja Magica in Madrid, on April 24, 2025. Thomas Coex, AFP/File
Alex Eala took a step towards qualification to the main draw of the 2025 Nottingham Open after a three-set win over Varvara Gracheva, Saturday in the United Kingdom.
Eala recovered from a letdown in the second set to eliminate Gracheva, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
She will now need to defeat Anca Todoni of Romania to earn one of the six qualifying spots to the main draw.
It's a bounce back win for Eala, who had just lost to Canada's Rebecca Marino in the quarterfinals of the Ilkley Open on Thursday.
READ: Eala falls to Ilkley Open defending champion Marino
The Filipina broke Gracheva's serve for a 5-2 advantage, but was broken right back as the Russian player stayed alive.
Eala kept her composure, however, and broke back in the next game to seal the victory.
Todoni, currently ranked 88th by the WTA, had swept home bet Jodie Burrage 7-6 (7-2), 6-1, in an earlier match to progress.