“I’m in complete disbelief right now, I’m on cloud nine,” said an ecstatic Alexandra Eala on Wednesday. The World No.140 from Philippines stunned the former World No.1 and five-time Slam champion Iga Swiatek in the Miami Open QF. In what can be called the biggest upset of this edition, the wild card gave no chance to the Pole. While the 19-year-old is now in her maiden semifinal of a WTA 1000 event, Swiatek’s lost on words to describe what happened to her during that last eight encounter against Eala.
While they may have faced each other for the first time in Miami, the two have got an interesting connection. It goes back to 2023.
Back then, Eala graduated from the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca. And guess who was present there as a commencement speaker? Yes, it was none other than Swiatek. In fact, they both were pictured as well in one frame alongside the 22-time Slam king and 14-time Roland Garros champion. Swiatek clearly didn’t have an ounce of idea, two years ago, that the youngster would eventually leave her awestruck in a professional match. Following her unexpected defeat, Swiatek revealed the reason she thought might have worked for Eala.
During a press conference, dated March 26, she said, “I didn’t know she’s going to play that flat, but besides that, well, she was really aggressive, you know, and she kept her focus. And, like, I don’t know, some of these shots were pretty like out of nowhere.” Continuing further, she added, “But still, you know, I could see clearly she has intentions to go forward and to push. So it worked for her today, for sure.”
With her win against Swiatek, Eala completed a hat-trick of victories over three former Slam winners in one event. Prior to the Pole, she also beat Jelena Ostapenko and then Madison Keys in second and third round, respectively. Against Keys, Eala managed to get her first win over a top-10 player. It’s interesting to note that Eala hadn’t even beaten a top-40 player until Miami. Meanwhile, for Swiatek, it was just her third career loss against a player ranked outside top 100.
Eala received an unexpected advantage in the fourth round, advancing via walkover due to Paula Badosa’s injury, which provided her with additional rest leading into the quarterfinals. And when she won it, Eala seemed teary-eyed and had no words to describe the feeling.
“I would love to think that I make a difference,” Eala said. “That’s the only thing I can do to give back to my country is to help inspire, to inspire change and positive change, to inspire people to pick up a racket, to watch more tennis, watch more women’s tennis.”
Ahead of her much-important SF clash on Friday against Jessica Pegula, the Filipino received a huge motivation as well. Her idol and former ATP legend Nadal admired her on social media!
Following a remarkable win over Iga Swiatek, Alexandra Eala earns high praise from Rafael Nadal
Alexandra Eala was left in shock in the final set when Swiatek hit a shot outside the baseline. It earned the teenager the match point and a ticket to her maiden WTA 1000 semifinal. Trying to catch her breath, being in tears of joy, she revealed in an on-court interview, “It’s so surreal. I’m so happy and so blessed to be able to compete with such a player on this stage … My coach told me to run, to go for every ball, to take all the opportunities I can, because a five-time Slam champion is not going to give you the win.”
Later, in a post-match conference, she added, “I don’t have a lot of experience on the WTA Tour, that’s for sure” while giving credit to compartmentalization as a key to success. “I have experience with being professional. I have no hesitation to bring that part of me out when I’m on court and when I’m in a setting that calls for professionalism.”
To add to her celebrations, Nadal also showered praise on the rising talent. As soon as the news of her QF victory spread online, the tennis GOAT wrote on X, “We are extremely proud of you, Alex. What an incredible tournament! Let’s keep dreaming! ” But the mission is still far from over. If Eala wants to etch her name in history books, she will have to create one in Miami.
Stepping against American Jessica Pegula on Friday, she will need to maintain her indomitable run. Both players have never crossed paths so far. Hence, it will be intriguing to see who ends up making it to the title clash. Pegula is coming off her QF win over Emma Raducanu on Wednesday. What are your thoughts on Eala’s prospects in Miami? Is she on the verge of achieving a huge milestone this weekend?
The post “Clearly She Has Intentions to…” – Alexandra Eala’s Aggression Brutally Blindsides Iga Swiatek Into a Heartbreaking Loss in Miami appeared first on EssentiallySports.