Alexandra Eala stuns Iga Swiatek to reach the Miami Open semifinals on Wednesday, while Arthur Fils upset Alexander Zverev.
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EALA STUNS SWIATEK, ADVANCES TO FIRST WTA SEMIS
Eala stuns Swiatek, 6-2, 7-5, in their quarterfinals matchup.
Furthermore, the 19-year-old Filipino world No.140 broke Swiatek eight times as she became the first player from the Philippines to reach this far at a WTA tournament.
Moreover, Eala became the third wild card to advance to the last four in Miami after Justine Henin in 2010 and Victoria Azarenka in 2018.
“I really tried to soak it all in, because this has never happened to me before, and that’s why I was looking at the screen. I really wanted to keep that moment in my mind,” 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,” she added.
SWIATEK LAUDS FILIPINO OPPONENT FOR BEING ‘LOOSENED UP AND JUST WENT FOR IT’
Swiatek lauded her Filipino opponent for being “loosened up and just went for it.”
Moreover, the Polish world No.2 allowed Eala to win 80% of the points on Swiatek’s second serve to cost her the game.
Furthermore, Swiatek absorbed only her third loss to a player ranked outside the top 100 in a WTA main draw.
“Her being a lefty didn’t surprise me, but for sure, like, she went all in. She made these returns in and pretty long, and so it wasn’t easy to hit it back,” Swiatek said.
“She was pretty loosened up and just went for it,” she added.
FILS UPSETS ZVEREV IN RAIN-DELAYED MATCH
Fils upsets Zverev, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in a match that was delayed by rain.
Furthermore, the French No.17 seed may not be a shocking wild card entry like Eala, but his win still hook up the men’s singles event.
Moreover, the 20-year-old Fils rallied to win the next two matches after receiving treatment on his back in the first set.
Fils thus followed up his big win over American Frances Tiafoe in the third round for a marathon three setter.
He will next take on Jakub Mensik in the men’s singles quarterfinals on Thursday.
