SUSTAINING her giant-killing run and playing with solid consistency, Alex Eala stunned reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys of the US 6-4, 6-2 yesterday (Sunday night in the US) in the fourth round of the WTA 1000 Miami Open in Florida.
A day after displaying nerves of steel in ousting former French Open queen Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 7-6 (7-2), 7-5, the 19-yar-old Eala maintained her poise in subduing the highly-fancied Keys, 30, who had won 17 of her last 18 matches going into the game.
The pretty and feisty Pinay southpaw was unawed by her world No. 5 opponent, who was ranked 135 rungs higher, staying mostly on the baseline while awaiting the American to crack.
Eala’s triumph was historic, as she became the first Filipino player to beat top-30 foes twice in a row since the Women’s Tennis Association tour rankings began in 1975, and the first from the Philippines to beat a top 10 player, according to a story posted on the WTA website.
“Eala is the first player ranked outside the Top 100 to reach the Round of 16 in a WTA 1000 event this season. To put her accomplishment in context, her three main-draw match-wins at the Miami Open are more than all players from the Philippines combined,” the report said.
“I don’t think I’ve had the time to process everything that’s happened,” Eala, who broke down in tears after the win, was quoted as saying after her remarkable performance.
“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,” she added. “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 every single player here has envisioned themselves as a successful tennis player,” Eala continued. “This is the goal to do well on the WTA Tour, to win slams. In the end, the goal is to win slams, to get the rankings. I think this is a good step towards where I want to be.”
Keys acknowledged her lackluster stint, saying: “I don’t think I played great and I think she (Eala) played really well. 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 key to success.”
Up next today (Monday in the US) for Eala is a round-of-16 clash with Spanish No. 10 seed Paula Badosa, who outlasted Swiss Clara Tuason 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), for a place in the quarterfinals.
