Filipino teenager Alexandra Eala knocks out Australian Open champion Keys in Miami

Miami: Fifth-seeded American Madison Keys, the Australian Open champion, crashed out of the Miami Open on Sunday suffering a shock loss to 19-year-old Filipino wildcard Alexandra Eala.

The 6-4, 6-2 win for the teenager prompted her to hug her team and celebrate passionately after she became the first Filipino woman in the Open Era to beat a top-10 opponent since the ranking system came into being in 1975.

Eala, the 2022 US Open girls’ singles champion, who has been based to the Rafael Nadal academy in Mallorca since she was 13, will now take on Spain’s Paula Badosa for a spot in the quarter-finals.

“Growing up it was tough… You didn’t have anyone from where you’re from to pave the way. Of course, you had many people to look up to around the world, but I think - I hope this takes Filipino tennis to the next step,” Eala said in her on-court interview. The Filipino teen had lost to Polina Kudermetova in the semi-finals of the 27th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge in Dubai in December last year.

Serve lets Keys down

Keys, who was badly beaten by Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells semi-finals, conceded she was well short of her best form.

“My serve was not really there today and I just kind of felt a little flat — and when you are playing someone who makes a ton of balls back and absorbs really well, that’s not really the keys to success,” said the American.

Iga Swiatek overcame a determined Elise Mertens to secure a 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 victory and take her place in the last 16 at a WTA 1000 tournament for a record 25th straight event.

Second-seeded Swiatek has not lost before the last 16 at this level since Cincinnati 2021.

The Pole was 5-2 up in the first set but Mertens fought back to make it 5-5 before Swiatek was able to regain her dominance in the tiebreak.

Patience pays off

Swiatek didn’t look back from that point on as she made short work of the second set and she acknowledged she had struggled on her serve. Her first service percentage went from 60% to 79% in the second set.

“In the first set, my serve wasn’t working perfectly. I’m glad I was patient enough to just work for it, and in the second set I felt much better,” Swiatek said.

Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, the 22nd seed, overcame 15th-seeded Czech Karolina Muchova to move into the fourth round with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win.