The 22-year-old, who is a Rafael Nadal Academy graduate, unexpectedly burst onto the scene at the Miami Open where she received a wild card to the main draw.

The then world No.140 dealt a series of upsets over some of the world’s best players including, Katie Volynets, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys and then world No.2 Iga Swiatek on her way to reaching the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 event.

The qualifier was emotional in her on-court interview, where she spoke about her relief of coming through a difficult match to reach her first WTA final, “I’m super happy because it was a tough match. There were really tough moments where she was playing well and sometimes I didn’t know how to get out of it so I’m really happy with winning."

“It was a challenge for both of us, physically and mentally - we both came from qualis. She's a really solid player and had some moments when she was really dominating so the fact I was able to stay there and wait for my opportunity, it’s a big achievement for me today.”

After Gracheva fought back to level the scoreboard, it was a shaky start to the decider for both players, with four breaks of serve in the opening five games.

At 3-3 in the third, Eala had to fight through a gruelling five-deuce game which saw her fend off a 15th break point of the match before holding firm as the Frenchwoman sent a forehand wide. That proved to be the turning point for the Filipino, who went on to break Gracheva the following game before closing out a spot in her first WTA tour-level final with a hold to love.

Meanwhile, it was a more straightforward task for world No.51 Joint who came through in straight sets against Pavlyuchenkova.

It's been a grass court debut to remember for the 19-year-old who has already beaten the likes of Ons Jabeur, British No.1 Emma Raducanu and Anna Blinkova on her way to reaching the final showdown.

“Super exciting," Joint said when asked how it feels to reach the final in Eastbourne. "I think if you told me at the beginning of the week I’d be in the final I wouldn’t have believed you.

"I definitely learned to love this week. Everyone that came out and supported, thank you - you made me love grass so thank you.”

Unlike Eala, Joint will know exactly what to expect when tomorrow rolls around, having already experienced the feelings that come alongside competing in a WTA final. The Aussie will be hoping to use that to her advantage as she looks to etch her name on a second trophy of the season.

“I can take confidence that I won it (a final) last time, maybe I’ll be a little bit less nervous than last time. But I’m really excited to come out here and play another match.

“I’m super excited to play Alex (Eala) I think we’re going to have a great match.”

It was a slow start for the teenager, who quickly trailed the 33-year-old 5-3 in the opening set. With Pavlyuchenkova serving to take a one set lead, Joint sparked alive, going on to win the last four games on the bounce to snatch the advantage from her opponent's grasp.

Joint managed to raise her level in the second and was particularly impressive in her service games - dropping just six points behind on serve throughout the 41 minute set.

With the confidence flowing in her game, the 19-year-old Aussie went all out attack on her returns, breaking Pavlyuchenkova to love in the third game of the second set before sealing her spot in Saturday's final with another break to 15. 

How to watch Alexandra Eala vs Maya Joint in the Lexus Eastbourne Open final

You can watch Eala and Joint in action in the Lexus Eastbourne Open final live and exclusively on BBC digital channels, BBC iPlayer and Tennis Channel.