FROM THE SEMI-FINAL TO A NEW THRESHOLD

Alexandra Eala turned her Washington run into a personal landmark. According to the official WTA Tour report, the 21-year-old defeated Naomi Osaka 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 16 minutes to reach the first WTA 500 final and the first hard-court final of her career.

This is a material development after her qualification for the semi-finals. Eala did more than add another strong result against a major name: she controlled a match against one of the tour's most dangerous first-strike players and is now one victory away from her first WTA Tour title.

THE SERVE THAT SHIFTED THE BALANCE

The straight-sets score was not built on defence alone. Eala won 71 per cent of her first-serve points, compared with Osaka's 59 per cent. The clearest gap appeared behind the second serve: Eala won 79 per cent of those points, while Osaka managed 48 per cent.

Eala faced four break points during the match and surrendered only one. In the opening set she earned the decisive break in the ninth game, then served it out without dropping a point for 6-4. An early break gave her control of the second set, and another late move against Osaka's serve opened the way to a 6-2 finish.

THE FINAL AGAINST PEGULA

Eala will meet Jessica Pegula in the final after the American defeated Diana Shnaider 7-5, 6-4. Pegula is the tournament's top seed and returns to the Washington championship match on the court where she won her first career title in 2019.

Pegula leads their head-to-head 1-0 after winning a three-set Miami semi-final one year ago. The context has changed, however. Eala entered that meeting ranked No. 140; she arrived in Washington this week at a career-high No. 28 and is expected to climb again after this run.

WHAT MAY DECIDE THE TITLE

Eala's central challenge will be preserving the quality of her second serve and preventing Pegula from settling into a return rhythm. The American has more experience in finals and won 64 per cent of second-serve return points against Shnaider.

Eala, however, has shown that she can alter pace and placement without relying only on power. If she maintains that variety and continues to seize the initiative early in games, the final can become a balanced test between Pegula's experience and Eala's rapid rise.

This article was written from scratch by ON MEDIA.AL using the official WTA Tour report and match statistics.