Alexandra Eala became the first player from the Philippines to reach a WTA Tour final as she beat fellow qualifier Varvara Gracheva 7-5 2-6 6-3 on the Eastbourne grass on Friday.
The 20-year-old left-hander, 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 she regrouped in the decider and survived a tough seventh game before breaking her French opponents serve to lead 5-3. She then enjoyed a love service game hold to seal victory.
In Saturdays 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.
