MIAMI: Alexandra Eala, a 19-year-old wildcard from the Philippines, produced a huge upset at the Miami Open on Wednesday, defeating world number two Iga Swiatek 6-2 7-5 to reach the semifinals.
Ranked 140th in the world, Eala, the first woman from her country to reach the last eight of a WTA 1000 tournament, took advantage of a unusually poor display from Swiatek, keeping her focus as she fought back from 4-2 down in the second set.
Eala broke the Pole for the eighth and final time when Swiatek was serving to stay in the match at 6-5 down in the second set and looked in disbelief as she struggled to contain her emotions.
“It’s just surreal,” said Eala, who has now beaten three grand slam winners on her route to the last four at Miami — having dealt with Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys before upsetting four-time French Open champion Swiatek.
“I’m trusting my shots and I have a great team to tell me that I can do it,” she said.
Eala moved to Spain at the age of 13 to join Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca.
Eala will face the winner of Wednesday’s quarter-final between Britain’s Emma Raducanu and American Jessica Pegula.
arabnews.com
