MANILA – Some analysts predicted Alexandra Eala’s impressive run in the Miami Open would not go beyond the quarterfinals, especially against world No. 2 and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek.
Look again, the Filipino wild card stunned the Polish, 6-2, 7-5, early Thursday (PH time) at Hard Rock Stadium.
Eala, 19, froze for a few seconds after Swiatek’s return landed wide, right in front of her. The disbelief hit her hard as no tears flowed in an instant, unlike in her previous matches.
“I’m on cloud nine. Thank you, everybody, who came to watch, and thanks to everyone who’s watching from home,” Eala said during the on-court interview.
Eala averted a third set when she rallied from 4-5 down, breaking Swiatek’s serve in the final game.
“I’m trusting my shots and I have a team that tells me I can do it,” she said at the Tennis Channel interview.
Toni Nadal, the uncle and coach of retired 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, was in Eala’s box. She enrolled at the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy in Mallorca, Spain when she was 13 and graduated in 2023.
On her way to the final four, she beat unseeded American Katie Volynets, then ousted three Grand Slam champions — 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys of the US and Swiatek.
She advanced against Swiatek when Spaniard Paula Badosa withdrew before their fourth round duel because of a bad back.
Eala will meet either British Emma Raducanu or American Jessica Pegula in the semifinals — her first in a WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) 1000 tournament.
The other women’s semi pits world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini of Italy. (Maria Romina Austria/PNA)
