Australian Open champion Madison Keys was dumped out of the Miami Open third round on Sunday, falling 6-4 6-2 to Philippine wild card Alexandra Eala, while Novak Djokovic earned a record-setting 411th ATP Masters 1000 level match win.
For 19-year-old Eala, the upset victory over the American fifth seed extended her dream run in Miami where she has now toppled two Grand Slam champions having beaten 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko in the second round.
“I am just in disbelief,” she told Tennis Channel. “I knew I could win from the start but the chances were low given that she is a great player, but I think my belief and the trust I had in myself is what pushed me through.”
Eala, who has trained at Rafa Nadal’s academy in Mallorca since she was 13, required a medical timeout for what appeared to be a leg injury but was a force from the baseline against Keys, who reached the Indian Wells semi-final last week. Up next for Eala, who has not dropped a set in Miami, will be Spanish 10th seed Paula Badosa.
Former champion Iga Swiatek earned a 7-6(2) 6-1 win over Belgian 27th seed Elise Mertens that made the Polish second seed the first player to reach the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event in 25 consecutive appearances.
Swiatek built a seemingly comfortable 5-2 lead in the first set but Mertens managed to claw back to 5-5 before the Pole ran away with the tiebreaker and breezed through the second frame.
“I’m happy that I got my level up in the tiebreaker to close it in two sets. Also in the second set I felt like I was playing good, big confidence,” said Swiatek. “Yeah, overall I’m happy with the performance and how I worked through some issues.”
Up next for Swiatek will be Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who beat Czech 15th seed Karolina Muchova 6-2 3-6 6-2 and is looking to build on her run to the Indian Wells quarter-final where she lost to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva.
Djokovic sets record: In other women’s action, Andreeva’s bid for a ‘Sunshine Double’ ended as American 17th seed Amanda Anisimova beat the Russian 11th seed 7-6(5) 2-6 6-3.
Anisimova will next face former U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu, who advanced after American McCartney Kessler retired due to a lower back injury while trailing the Briton 6-1 3-0.
American fourth seed Jessica Pegula rallied to beat Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-7(3) 6-2 7-6(2) and will face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round.
Six-times champion Djokovic moved into the fourth round with a 6-1 7-6(1) triumph over Argentine lucky loser Camilo Ugo Carabelli that moved the Serbian fourth seed ahead of Nadal and into top spot on the all-time list of Masters 1000 match wins.
Emotional Eala: Alexandra Eala wrote her name in tennis history on Sunday when the 19-year-old Filipina defeated Australian Open champion Madison Keys from the Miami Open.
She became the first woman from the Philippines to beat a top-10 opponent since the ranking system came into being 50 years ago.
It was a result that Eala celebrated with spontaneity and emotion, hugging her team while on the brink of tears. A little later, more composed but still struggling to comprehend her achievement, Eala tried to put it into context. “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.
When Eala was a 13-year-old girl, growing up in the Philippines, her talent was evident and her family made the difficult decision to send her to Spain to Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca.
There is no doubt that the access to the quality of coaching and facilities that the Spaniard makes available has helped Eala to grow into the 2022 US Open girls’ singles champion and now a real contender on the WTA Tour.
But Eala knows that her road to the big stage began earlier than that move.
“The academy has been my home for the past seven years. Of course, my family should take credit for the foundation that they laid out before they sent me there.” she said.
“But of course, the academy was able to build on that foundation in such a way that I’m able to be where I am now. And I think the combination of everything that I’ve been through since I started tennis is what has led to this moment and what has led to me having all these opportunities,” she added.