Alexandra Eala was left star-struck by Iga Swiatek in 2023 after meeting the Pole at the Rafa Nadal Academy during her graduation ceremony, but the wild-card from the Philippines gave her idol no quarter at the Miami Open on Wednesday in a massive quarter-final upset.
The 19-year-old played the match of her life to beat world No. 2 Swiatek 6-2, 7-5, reacting with disbelief and nearly sobbing on court after claiming a place in her first WTA semi-final.
Eala had been reduced to a gushing fan in the presence of the Pole two years ago as she collected her certificate at the academy in Mallorca and she said it was a surreal experience to face her across the net.
Photo: AFP
“She was a guest speaker and celebrity guest,” Eala said of the graduation ceremony. “I thought I was super lucky to have her during my graduation. She just came off I think a Grand Slam win also, Roland Garros, if I remember correctly.”
“Then she even did the whole ceremony with the class, tossed the hat, and I was so lucky because I was beside her,” she said. “It’s super surreal to think that the circumstances have changed, I’m facing her on court.”
Eala, who made her WTA Tour debut in the Miami qualifying event in 2021, has sparkled on her return to the venue this year with wins over former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko and reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
Photo: AFP
She said she had been confident she could add Swiatek to her list of victims and become only the second wild-card to beat three or more major winners in a tour-level event after Elina Svitolina at Wimbledon in 2023.
“From the very beginning, I knew that I had the level to stick with her. She’s very decorated. She’s achieved a lot and is someone I’ve looked up to for a while,” Eala said. “It was a pleasure to share the court with her and to be able to compete with her and hang with her rhythm.”
“It’s something I’m very proud of,” added Eala, who will now become the first Filipina to be ranked in the top 100.
Photo: AFP
Later, Jessica Pegula stopped the string of upsets at the Miami Open by ending the stalwart run of Britain’s unseeded Emma Raducanu.
The fourth-seeded Pegula won 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 in a two hour, 25 minute battle to move into her third Miami Open women’s semi-final in four years.
Pegula, the last American in the field, was to play Eala yesterday.
Photo: Geoff Burke / Imagn Images
Pegula’s match ended at 11:23pm and forced the postponement of the men’s quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and Sebastian Korda.
In a nearly three-hour, men’s quarter-final, a cramping, 14th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov barely survived the oppressive humidity to outlast No. 23 seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).
Dimitrov was led off the court by a tournament doctor and ATP physio after sitting in his chair for more than 25 minutes, saying he was feeling “dizzy.”
Dimitrov, a Miami Open finalist last year, saved a match point in the third set when trailing 5-6 before forcing a tiebreaker. He squandered seven set points in the opening set and lost the tiebreaker 6-4.
He faces the Djokovic-Korda winner in the quarter-finals.
The high seeds were falling earlier on Wednesday.
Soon after Eala stunned Swiatek, men’s top seed Alexander Zverev got bounced by No. 17 seed Arthur Fils of France, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a fourth-round men’s match postponed by rain.
Fils faces Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic in the quarters.
In the women’s doubles quarter-finals at the US$9,193,540 event, Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China defeated Chinese pair Zheng Saisai and Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-4 to set up at semi-final against Russian duo Diana Shnaider and Mirra Andreeva.
Additional reporting by staff writer
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said his team would go into the new German Bundesliga season with “almost no preparation” because of their participation at the FIFA Club World Cup, but also highlighted some positives of being at the tournament. FIFA’s new expanded competition in the US, finishing on July 13, means participating clubs would get limited time to rest and recover ahead of the 2025-2026 season. As well as the riches on offer, with US$1 billion in prize money on the line in total, Kompany said there are some other benefits coming with working in a group abroad for
RSS