Eala stuns world No. 5 in historic Miami Open win

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Eala’s Cinderella run continued with the biggest win not only of her career but of the entire Philippine tennis.

A wildcard entry among the sport’s biggest stars, Eala took down another heavyweight in world No. 5 Madison Keys of the United States, 6-4, 6-2, to barge into the Miami Open Round of 16 yesterday at the Hardrock Stadium in Florida.

On the heels of a massive win against world No. 25 and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, Eala soldiered on and scored an ever greater feat in the Round of 32 at the expense of the American ace at home.

“I’m so glad. I’m thinking of my parents. They’re watching now. Mom, Dad, nakuha ko (I got it). My God!” said Eala, who put her hands over her head then pumped her fists as she walked toward the net to shake hands with Keys.

“It’s a big thing to take in, and I feel it’s important for me to take it in step by step. I’m so super proud of what I was able to accomplish, but it definitely fuels me more,” she said.

“I know and it’s in my mind that I have a next match, but I need to stop, and I need to recognize that what I did today was really amazing. I think my reaction on court, you know, sums up pretty much how I feel about it,” she said.

Eala, WTA No. 140, needed only 87 minutes to trample Keys, who’s coming off a stunning championship run in the Australian Open last January.
Keys served as the second big fish in Eala’s frying pan after upsetting Ostapenko in the Round of 64.

Not only did Eala slay two Grand Slam champions but she also became the first Filipina player in history to beat a Top-25 and Top-5 player in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.
Eala did it behind a flawless game, banking on a 3-1 blitz in the first set before repelling Keys’ furious comeback by winning the last two games.

She then flaunted the same composure in the second set, blanking Keys in the last four games to break away from a deadlock at two games each. Prior to Ostapenko and Keys, Eala also drubbed world No. 73 Katie Volynets of the USA, 6-3, 7-6(3), in the Round of 128. 

But the Filipina is not done yet, setting her sights on another top-ranked player in WTA No. 11 Spain’s Paula Badosa, who scored a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over Denmark’s Clara Tauson, in the Round of 16 at 7 a.m. today. At stake for Eala is her first-ever quarterfinal stint in the WTA 1000 tourney for another milestone.