First Pinoy to gain semis of WTA tilt
ALEX Eala sustained her storybook run early yesterday morning (Wednesday afternoon in the US), humbling Polish World No. 2 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 7-5 to sweep into the semifinals of the WTA 1000 Miami Open at the Grand Court of the Hard Rock Stadium in Florida.
Ranged against a five-time Grand Slam champion, Eala more than held her own against Swiatek with a dominant first-set win before rallying from 2-4 down in the second to post her third straight upset triumph after an entertaining match that lasted two hours and 16 minutes.
Malacanang Eala for her latest victory, saying she brought honor to the country.
“This is a victory for Filipinos. Malacañang, the Palace, the President is proud of Filipinos who bring honor to the Philippines,” said Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro.
Eala became the first Filipina to reach the semis of a major pro tourney in the Open era, prolonging an improbable campaign that has already claimed former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and reigning Australian Open queen Madison Keys of the US.
The pretty Pinay southpaw, who went into the tournament as an under-the-radar wild card bet, advanced against American veteran and former French Open women’s singles finalist Jessica Pegula, the world No. 4, who subdued Englishwoman Emma Raducanu in extended sets 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2.
Eala, 19, faces an opponent 11 years older. They tangle today (Thursday in the US) for a place in the championship match of the tourney offering an eye-popping grand prize of $1,124,380 (around P64,692,896.05) plus 1000 world ranking points.
Whatever the outcome of her semifinal encounter, Eala is now guaranteed to take home $332,160 (P19.111 million) and 400 ranking points.
“I don’t know what to say. I am in complete disbelief right now. I am on cloud nine, so thank you, everybody who came to watch, and thanks to everyone who’s watching from home,” Eala said in an interview at courtside after the match in front of an appreciative crowd.
Among those in the gallery was Spanish coach Toni Nadal, the uncle and former mentor of retired tennis great Rafael Nadal, whose tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain, was where Eala honed her talent and skills starting at the tender age of 12.
Coincidentally, Swiatek, fresh from winning the French Open women’s singles crown, was the guest speaker at her academy graduation in 2023.
“Yeah, she (Swiatek) was a guest speaker and celebrity guest. I think every year the academy tries to invite a public figure, I guess, to inspire the kids and to super-inspire. I thought I was super lucky to have her during my graduation,” Eala recalled.
“She just came off, I think, a slam win also, Roland Garros, if I remember correctly.”
During the post-match press conference, Eala was shown a picture of Swiatek standing beside her during her graduation.
“It’s so surreal,” she said. “I feel like I’m the exact same person as I was in that photo. But of course, circumstances have changed! I’m so happy and so blessed to be able to compete with such a player on this stage.”
She said she went into the match brimming with confidence after her previous wins over favored foes.
“Yeah, from the very beginning, I knew that I had the level to stick with her (Swiatek). She’s very decorated. I mean, she’s achieved a lot. She’s achieved a lot, and she’s someone that I have looked up to for a while,” she said.
“My coach told me to run, to go for every ball, to take all the opportunities I can, because a five-time Slam champion is not going to give you the win,” she noted. “So it was a pleasure to share the court with her and to be able to compete with her and to hang with her rhythm.
“It’s something I’m very proud of, yeah.”
Swiatek pointed out the aggressiveness and go-for-broke attitude of her Filipina foe, saying: “She (Eala) went all in. She made these returns in and pretty long, and so it wasn’t easy to hit it back. She was pretty loosened up and just went for it.”
Behind a solid baseline game with occasional forays at the net, Eala surged to a 5-2 lead in the opening set after trading service breaks in the first two games, racking up eight straight points to move into a game of securing the set.
Aiming to extend the set, Swiatek surged ahead 0-30 but Eala countered with three straight points, including a nifty crosscourt drop shot near the net that settled the issue.
Trying not to be embarrassed again in the second set, the top-ranked Pole broke her rival in the fourth game and won the next two more for a 4-2 edge.
But Eala did not roll over despite the pressure, winning five of the next six to secure the spectacular win.
When Swiatek hit a ball long on match point, Eala’s eyes widened, realizing she had won. With relief, she said: “I couldn’t decide either (smiling). I think I was so in the moment, and I made it a point to be in the moment every point that it’s hard to realize what just happened. It’s hard to realize that you won the match.
“I really tried to soak it all in, because this has never happened to me before, and that’s why I was looking at the screen. You know, I really wanted to keep that moment in my mind.”
