Filipino 19-year-old Alexandra Eala stunned Australian Open winner Madison Keys 6-4, 6-2 in the Round of 32 at the Miami Open on Sunday.
Eala, in the field as a wild card, had won just three WTA 1000-level matches in her young career before taking down the fifth-seeded Keys in 97 minutes.
“I don’t think I’ve had the time to process everything that’s happened,” Eala told reporters, “so I’m taking it step by step and just focusing on what I need to do next. It’s a big thing to take in, and I’m so super proud of what I was able to accomplish, but it definitely fuels me more.
“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.”
Keys hit five aces to Eala’s one but also committed four double faults. Eala pushed Keys to break point 13 times, converting six of them.
Eala also had a more consistent first serve, winning 58.5 percent of those points (24 of 41) while Keys scored on 46.3 percent (19 of 41).
“I don’t think I played great, and I think she played really well,” Keys said. “Unfortunately, that’s kind of how tennis goes sometimes. My serve was not really there today, and I kind of just felt a little flat. And when you’re playing someone who makes a ton of balls back and absorbs (power) really well, that’s not really the keys to success.”
Eala’s next opponent will be No. 10 seed Paula Badosa of Spain, who topped No. 20 seed Clara Tauson of Denmark 6-3, 7-6 (3).
No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland battled through a tight first set to defeat No. 27 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium 7-6 (2), 6-1.
Swiatek lost a 5-2 lead in the first set and fell behind on the opening point of the tiebreaker before taking control of the match. She saved 4 of 6 break points she faced while converting 5 of 6 chances to break Mertens.
“In the first set, my serve wasn’t working perfectly,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview. “I’m glad I was patient enough to just work for it, and in the second set I felt much better.”
Swiatek’s Round of 16 opponent is No. 22 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, who fought past Czech 15th seed Karolina Muchova 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
No. 23 seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine needed just 59 minutes to breeze past Russia’s Anna Blinkova 6-2, 6-1. She will play No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula, who rallied past Russian No. 32 seed Anna Kalinskaya 6-7 (3), 6-2, 7-6 (2).
Emma Raducanu of Great Britain defeated McCartney Kessler of the U.S., who was down 6-1, 3-0 when she retired from the match due to a lower back injury. Raducanu next plays No. 17 Amanda Anisimova of the U.S., an upset winner over 11th seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia, last week’s champion at Indian Wells, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3. Andreeva, No. 6 in the world, saw her 13-match winning streak end after battling for nearly three hours.
–Field Level Media
