Alexandra Eala defeats Iga świątek and reaches the Miami Open semi -finals

Alexandra Eala defeats Iga świątek and reaches the Miami Open semi -finals

Alexandra Eala continued her impressive run at the Miami Open by defeating the five-time Grand Slam champion Iga świątek in two sets and thus reaching the first semi-finals of her young career. The 19-year-old Wildcard player won 6-2, 7: 5, where she was particularly convincing with her powerful and precise two-handed forehand return.

a remarkable performance

The second place set in second place is now the third Grand Slam champion, the Eala, who is currently in 1400th place in the world, has defeated on her way to the semi-finals. Before that, she had already thrown Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys out of the tournament. With her victory in Miami, Eala wrote history for the Filipino Tennis Association and is the first Filipina to reach a WTA semi-final. In addition, it will be the first Filipina to get into the top 100 in the world.

milestone for the Filipino tennis

Through the victory over Ostapenko, Eala achieved the first triumph about a player from the top 30, both for herself and for her home country. At the moment, both you and the Philippines have a total of three victories against top 30 players. When świątek put her backhand game in the match ball, Eala turned to her coaching box with a stunned facial expression.

an unforgettable moment

"I don't know what to say," said the 19-year-old in her interview on the pitch. "I can hardly believe it, I'm in complete overwhelming and on cloud seven." Although this was the first meeting of Eala and świątek on the square, the two players have already met before. Eala began to train at the age of 13 at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain, and at her final ceremony in 2023 świątek was present as the main speaker.

A big dream will come true

When Eala was shown a photo of herself and świątek next to Nadal, she just grew astonishment: "It is so surreal. I have the feeling that I am the same person as in this photo. But of course the circumstances have changed! It makes me so happy and so grateful to be able to compete with such a great player on this stage."

Eala’s coach had encouraged her to fight and take every chance, because "a five-time Grand Slam champion will not just give you the victory." The teenager has long been one of the most exciting talents in tennis. In 2022 she won the title of the girls at the US Open as well as the girls' double titles at the French Open 2021 and the Australian Open 2020.

The next step on the way to history

The victory in 2022 catapulted her in her homeland, and shortly afterwards she adorned Vogue Filippines cover. In the semifinals, Eala will now face the fourth Jessica Pegula, who prevailed in an exciting match against Emma Raducanu with 6: 4, 6: 7 (3), 6: 2 and also writes history.

"We are extremely proud of you, Alex," wrote her compatriot, the left-hander and 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal on X. "What an incredible tournament! Let's go on to dream!"

other semi -finalists

In the other semi-finals, Aryna Sabalenka will meet Jasmine Paolini after the Belarusian world ranking leader has expanded her unbeaten record against Zheng Qinwen to 6: 0 with a 6: 2, 7: 5 victory.