Alex Eala beats Iga Swiatek to continue the splendid Miami Open race

Miami – Alexandra Eala it cannot be stopped.

For a third consecutive game, Eala, a 19 -year -old Jolly from the Philippines, beat a Grand Slam champion. This time, he beat the most dominant of the last three years, reversing Iga świąk 6-2, 7-5.

Świątek, the five -time champion of the Grand Slam and the world n. 2, he fought with his service, allowing Eala to push forward and stand up or inside the base line for most of the game. Even świątek was unable to understand the enigma of Eala’s service, a rotating and manufacture offer that barely breaks 90 mph on the first ball and travels to about 75 mph on the second.

Whatever is missing in Eala in obvious power, he compensated with fast feet and hands and healthy doses of genuism, especially on the most crucial points. From time to time, he raised the soil and absorbed the power and spin of świątek. He lowered the ball to remove time from his opponent, or took a great cut to the balls that kicked the field and bounced around the eyes. The strategy hastened the preparation of świąk, especially on its right, forcing her to run blows floating off the pitch or gave Eala the opportunity to put the next ball away. Świątek hit 32 unformed errors for Eala’s 12.

Świątek had received further safety at the beginning of the tournamentAfter a man harassed her during the rehearsals before her victory over Elina Vitolina. The result continues a year of frustration for the former world number 1, which has not won a title from the France Open last year. Three of his four defeats at the tournaments before this in 2025 arrived at the hands of the possible champion: Mirra Andreeva in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Indian Wells, California and Madison Keys at the Australian Open. Andreeva and Keys are both the top 10 players and the other defeat came to Jelena Ostapeko, an opponent who świątek has never beaten.

In every game, świąk faced an opponent playing something close to the game of his life, but here, Eala was playing the game of his life for the third time in a row in a week. It was also n. World 140 – At least until next week, when it will break the top 100 for the first time, it ranked at least at n. 75.

After being invaded in the first set, świątek served for the second, but Eala hit an elegant drop shot to reach the double pause point and then obtained świątek to send another straight to draw even to 5-5. Eala has kept service again, and in the decisive match, two errors of law from świątek – one on the net and one long – obtained Eala two points from the victory. Świątek then framed another right, Games at the top and long. On the point of the game, it was the reverse that went for a long time.

Eala was still behind the base line, the face was still with shock.

After shaking his hand, he walked in the center of the court and suffocated the tears, staring at the crowd and the giant images of herself on the huge screens in the corners of the stadium.

“At the moment I am only incredulous,” Eala said in court.

“It’s so surreal … I’m so happy and so happy to be able to compete with such a player at this stage.”

Eala’s race in Miami was already ridiculous. After beating Katie Volynets to start, he beat the former French open champion Ostapenko in the second round and in office the Australian champion Open Keys in the third. He had a break in the round of 16, when Paula Badosa retired with a back injury.

Make świąk fall, even the version inclined to play tight against players walking on the pitch with little to lose, is at a different level. Świątek generally destroys inexperienced opponents such as Eala, obtaining an advantage command and then running in the distance.

But every time he seemed to shake off his nerves and go to one of his patented rolls, Eala entered and took his shots. It was not simply a matter of forcing świąk to hit another blow; He was a nineteen -year -old who found the lines and corners he had the head of świątek on a jury as he looked at the ball after the ball flew next to her. Eala, more typically a counterpunker, has reached the all -round aggression strategy that other players have found świątek interruptions. He performed it with aplomb.

He won 77 points to 59 for świątek. He won 43 of these points as he returned. He won eight of the 10 pause points. It is not much better than that.

Her victory once put it in unexplored territory for a Philippine tennis player. It was already the highest Filipino in the history of the WTA tour, and the first to win a Grand Slam, the US Open in 2022. It is now in the semifinal at the event of 1,000 levels, one has remained under a Grand Slam. The Philippines have three wins in top 30 since the WTA charts started in 1975; Eala has all three.

The finalist Us Open Jessica Peguula or the Us Open champion 2021 Emma Raducanu are lined up to face Eala.

(Photo by Alex Eala: Geoff Burke / Image Images)