Croatia extend Scotland’s losing streak

EASTBOURNE, England: Alexandra Eala became the first Filipino to reach a WTA Tour final as she beat fellow qualifier Varvara Gracheva 7-5 2-6 6-3 at the Eastbourne Open on Friday, while lucky loser Jenson Brooksby will meet holder Taylor Fritz in the men’s final.

Left-hander Eala, ranked 74th in the world, edged a tight first set before losing five games in a row in the second as the match appeared to be slipping away.

But the 20-year-old regrouped in the decider and survived a tough seventh game before breaking her French opponent’s serve to lead 5-3. She then enjoyed a love service game to seal victory.

In Saturday’s final she will face 19-year-old Australian Maya Joint who beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5 6-3.

It will be the youngest Eastbourne final since 1981 when Tracy Austin faced fellow American Andrea Jaeger.

“I’m super happy because that was a tough match and there were some really tough moments,” an emotional Eala, who is based in Mallorca and trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy, said on court.

“It was tough physically and mentally because she is a tough player and also came from qualifying.”

Eala’s run will not have gone unnoticed by Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, who has been drawn to play her in the first round at the All England Club next week.

Krejcikova reached the quarter-finals at Eastbourne but withdrew with a thigh injury on Thursday.

Joint continued her impressive run as she reached her first WTA final on grass, coming from 5-3 behind in the opening set against Pavlyuchenkova to take control.

“I’m very excited,” the 51st-ranked Joint said on court. “I’ve learned to love playing on grass this week.”

Three-times champion Fritz overcame Spanish sixth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 3-6 6-1 and will now face fellow-American Brooksby after the lucky loser beat French fourth seed Ugo Humbert.

Fritz broke the Spaniard’s first service game as he comfortably won the first set, and while Davidovich Fokina fought back to force a decider, the American broke twice in the last set to reach the final for the fourth time.

Brooksby won his first ATP title in April at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship, where he began as a wildcard in the qualifying rounds and his 6-7(7) 6-4 6-4 win over Humbert sees the American make it to another final.

“I think it’s a lot less pressure when you don’t expect to be in the main draw and get the opportunity,” Brooksby said.

“You just want to make the most of it.”

Humbert came from 5-3 down to win the opening set on a tiebreak, before Brooksby bounced back despite the Frenchman’s battling spirit.

The American took a 3-0 lead in the next two sets and Humbert drew level on both occasions, but Brooksby clinched both sets with a break of serve.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee: Al-Hilal will be the sole representatives from Asia in the knockout stages of football’s glittering Club World Cup in the US.

The Riyadh club held Real Madrid to a draw in their opening match and won a decisive clash with Pachuca of Mexico in their last group-stage game, to ensure finishing second behind the Spanish giants and progressing to the last 16 of the tournament.

All but three of the teams through to the final stages are from Europe and South America. The exceptions are Al-Hilal, Monterrey from Mexico, and Inter Miami, where Lionel Messi leads a side filled with former Barcelona stalwarts.

Egypt’s Al-Ahly and Tunisia’s Esperance brought plenty of fans to create atmosphere in the large US stadiums, but went home disappointed. “The moment you drop a little bit your level against this quality of opponents, you pay a price,” Al-Ahly coach Jose Riveiro said.

“But the players had the opportunity to showcase their talent and a fantastic platform to do it. It’s a special occasion, for sure.”