The clock finally struck midnight on Alex Eala’s Cinderella run at the WTA 1000 Miami Open.
Eala bowed to world no.4 Jessica Pegula of the United States, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3, in a thrilling semis showdown between the veteran American and the upstart Filipina.
The 19-year-old Eala looked poised to grab the opening set as she broke Pegula twice to surge to a 5-2 advantage. But the 31-year-old American kept her poise, even after the Filipina reached set point at 5-3, to ultimately turn the tide and win the first set via tiebreak.
Eala, though, gamely fought back in the second set despite tweaking her ankle. The young wildcard sprayed powerful shots all over the court and capitalized on Pegula’s unforced errors to tie the match with a 7-5 victory in set 2.
The third set decider started close, with both players holding their serves in the first seven games. But Pegula broke through in the eight game, breaking Eala to finally seize momentum and control of the match at 5-3.
Pegula Gives Alex Eala Her Flowers
After the match, Pegula admitted to being exhausted after the three-set war before giving Eala her well-deserved flowers.
“She [Eala] is really good. Goes for her shots, takes the ball early. Being a lefty is always tricky, competes really well. She’s beaten a lot of top players this week,” Pegula said of Eala in the post-match interview.
Indeed, Eala went on a giant-slaying run at the WTA 1000 Miami Open, beating three Grand Slam champions in a span of 10 days, the last being Iga Swiatek in the Round of 16. Before that, Eala knocked off Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the Round of 64 and outlasted 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the Round of 32. Eala then received a free pass in the Round of 16 after her opponent, world no. 11 Paula Badosa of Spain, withdrew due to a lower back injury.
“I don’t really think she needs me to tell her that she’s a great player, that we’re not going to see enough of her, but we definitely are. And she proved that tonight. That was really tough,” Pegula added about Eala.
Alex Eala Unites a Sports-Crazy Country
Eala’s Cinderella run—and her semis match against Pegula—united the Philippines, with over 200,000 watching the young tennis sensation try to make more history in what has been a historic march already. Praises for Eala, who is lowest-ranked semifinalist in the history of the WTA 1000 Miami Open, also flooded social media.
With her stirring showcase at Miami, Alex Eala is assured of a spot in the main draw of the French Open and won’t have to go through the qualifying rounds anymore.
