(UPDATED) Filipina tennis star Alex Eala is headed to the semifinals of the Mubadala DC Open after a sensational win over second seed Elina Svitolina in the last eight, Friday (Saturday morning in Manila).

Eala continued her superb run in the tournament, beating the Ukrainian veteran 6-3, 6-4.

This marked her second win over Svitolina, having won their showdown at the Berlin Open last month with the same scoreline.

“I think I came in with a great mindset today. I think I was playing very well, and of course Elina hit some good shots,” said Eala. “She was being aggressive, especially in that second set.”

“So I’m really happy that I was able to keep my rhythm.”

Eala and Svitolina traded breaks in the first five games of the opening set before the Filipina finally secured a crucial hold in the sixth game, capitalizing on her opponent’s errors for a 4-2 advantage.

Svitolina held back in the next game, but Eala showed her trademark grit in the eighth game to seize control of the set. The Filipina battled back from a 0-40 hole to force a deuce, then fired a fine forehand winner to take a 5-3 lead.

Eala proceeded to break Svitolina in the next game to take the opening set after 43 minutes.

The Ukrainian veteran appeared to have turned things around after surging to 3-1 lead in the second set, but a crucial hold in the fifth game propelled Eala’s comeback.

She would seize a 5-4 advantage with another strong service game. On her serve, Svitolina battled back from two match points to force a deuce, but the Ukrainian dumped a backhand into the net to put Eala on the brink again. A double fault sealed the victory for the Filipina rising star.

With the result, Eala is now set to face Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the semifinals.

“She is of course 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 to her for that,” Eala said of Osaka. “I’m really excited.”