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| Alex Eala sent world number two Iga Swiatek home. Reuters |
MANILA—Alex Eala’s historic run at the WTA 1000 Miami Open continued as she shocked World No. 2 and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 7-5, to advance to her first tour-level semifinal on Thursday morning (Manila time).
The 19-year-old Filipina became only the second wild card in history to defeat three or more Grand Slam winners in a single tournament.
Eala entered the match with back-to-back wins over Jelena Ostapenko (2017 French Open champion) and Madison Keys (2024 Australian Open champion) before receiving a walkover from World No. 10 Paula Badosa in the fourth round.
Despite falling behind an early break in the first set, Eala quickly turned the match around, breaking Swiatek four times to take the opener dominantly.
Swiatek, a former World No. 1, struggled with her range, committing 19 unforced errors in the first set.
Eala looked poised to run away with the second set after securing an early 2-0 lead, but Swiatek responded by winning four consecutive games to take control.
With Swiatek serving for the set at 5-4, Eala broke back before winning three of the last four games to seal the biggest victory of her career in one hour and 39 minutes.
The Filipina converted her first match point after forcing Swiatek into a forehand error, prompting an emotional reaction from the crowd.
"I don’t know what to say. I’m in complete disbelief right now, and I’m on cloud nine," Eala said in her on-court interview.
With this result, Eala climbs to World No. 75 in the live WTA rankings, marking her debut in the Top 100.
She will face another Grand Slam champion in the semifinals, as she awaits the winner of the quarterfinal match between Emma Raducanu (2021 US Open champion) and Jessica Pegula (2024 US Open finalist).
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