Miami Gardens, Fla. – Junior Alexandra Eala was frustrated again at the Miami Open Wednesday when she defeated five-time Grand Slam champions and second-seeded Iga Swiatek 6-2, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
The 19-year-old lefty, who won a wildcard in the WTA 1000 event, is the only Filipino player on the professional tennis tour and ranked 140th in 140.
Eala defeated her third major title, this time in 1 hour and 37 minutes, Eala entered her first WTA semifinal.
In the process, she defeated 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and dominated Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who ranked fifth.
Eala then won the walkway across Paula Badosa in the fourth round, giving her added rest.
Swiatek broke Eala in the first game of the game, but the teenager fell. The first two games took only 15 minutes to play.
At the set point, Swiatek waved a forehand, ended the game in 42 minutes and dropped Eala One from the semifinals, where she would face Jessica Pegula in the United States or Emma Raducanu in the United Kingdom.
Although Eala represents the Philippines, she has lived in Mallorca for the past six years, training at the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy.
