Manila: Alexandra Eala secured her place in the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open semifinals after beating second seed Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 6-4, Saturday in Washington, D.C., USA. The victory marks a significant achievement for the 21-year-old Filipino, who previously bested Svitolina in June at the Berlin Open with the same scoreline on grass. According to Philippines News Agency, Eala expressed admiration for Svitolina, acknowledging her accomplishments both on and off the court. In her on-court interview, Eala shared her excitement, stating, "She's such an accomplished player, and I think she's made waves on and off the tennis court for so many reasons. There's so much respect for her for that, and you know I'm really excited. I haven't had much time to think about it, but I will definitely think about it after I get off court." Eala is set to face Japanese Naomi Osaka in the semifinals, following Osaka's victory over Italian Elisabeth Cocciaretto, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Eala's journey to the semifinals included dethron ing defending champion and No. 7 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada, with a 6-2, 7-6 (1) win in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, American Jessica Pegula, the top seed, overcame Anna Kalinskaya, 6-3, 7-5, to set up a semifinal clash with fourth seed Diana Shnaider. Shnaider secured her spot by defeating Liudmila Samsonova, 6-3, 6-4. All three players are Russians. The tournament features a total prize money of USD1,637,982, with the champion receiving USD252,000, approximately PHP15 million. Eala is already assured of USD90,900, roughly PHP5.5 million, for her performance so far.