\n See draw<\/p>\n
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Filipino Alexandra Eala backed up her stunning upset of Elena Rybakina with another, beating Ukrainian sixth seed Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-4 on Friday evening to reach the semi-finals of the Berlin Tennis Open on her tournament debut.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old, ranked No 35, has been the story of the week. Having knocked out second seed Rybakina in the previous round, she claimed a second top-10 scalp in succession \u2013 the sixth such win of her young career \u2013 and reached the fourth tour-level semi-final of her career. It also moved her to the brink of a notable feat: beating multiple top-10 players at a single event for the second time, after she took out Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys at Miami in 2025.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Eala : \u201clucky\u201d<\/p>\n
Against Svitolina, Eala controlled the match from the front, taking the opening set 6-3 and holding her nerve in the second to close it out 6-4. She had reached the last eight by beating last week\u2019s Queen\u2019s Club champion Donna Vekic (7-5, 6-4) before her victory over Rybakina, a run that began on a grass-court swing in which she won the WTA 125 title in Birmingham.<\/p>\n
Eala was warm in her assessment of an opponent she has long admired. \u201cElina is a huge fighter and I\u2019ve seen it many times. I\u2019ve been watching her since I was a kid, so to be able to compete with her today is such an honour,\u201d she said. \u201cShe\u2019s a mother, and I find her to act with such elegance and strength. I\u2019m really lucky to have had this match today.<\/p>\n
Svitolina, ranked No 8, had reached the quarter-finals by beating German Eva Lys (6-3, 6-2) and Russian Anna Kalinskaya, who retired when trailing 6-1, 4-1. Eala will next face Czech eighth seed Linda Noskova for a place in the final.<\/p>\n
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