MANILA, Philippines – The incredible run continues for the Filipina wildcard bet.
Alex Eala barged into the quarterfinals of the Miami Open after her opponent, world No. 11 Paula Badosa of Spain, pulled out due to a lower back injury in the round of 16 on Monday, March 24 (Tuesday, March 25, Manila time).
The feat made Eala the first Filipino to reach the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 after carving out huge upsets in previous rounds, including shockers over world No. 5 and reigning Australian Open queen Madison Keys, and world No. 25 and 2017 French Open titlist Jelena Ostapenko.
In the final eight, the 19-year-old Eala will face the winner of the match between world No. 2 and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek of Poland and No. 22 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
Eala already hacked out three straight-set wins, but all in grueling fashion, against top-notch oppositions
This time, Eala caught a lucky, well-deserved break when Badosa was forced to withdraw from the match, giving Eala safe passage to the quarterfinals.
The Filipina teen achieved a few more milestones after her walkover win. She became the first player from the Philippines to reach the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event, surpassing the feat of former national team standout Cecil Mamiit.
Mamiit made the semifinals of the 2002 Brasil Open, an ATP 500 event. Back then, he was also still representing the United States.
Eala, currently 140th in the world rankings, jumped to 102 in the live WTA rankings, a new career high. The big leap also put her on the cusp of finally cracking the top 100 in the world.
The Filipina teen’s previous best outing in the WTA were two second-round finishes in the 2021 WTA 250 Cluj-Napoca Winners Open in Romania and the WTA 1000 Mutua Madrid Open in Spain. She had previously beaten only two players in the top 100 in the world rankings.
But in just a week in Miami, the 2022 US Open girls singles champion has chalked up victories against three opponents ranked in the top 100.
In the opening round, she beat world No. 73 Katie Volynets of the United States, then followed it up with a grind-out win over Ostapenko of Latvia and a surprise steamrolling of Keys of the United States.
It was a sorry end, meanwhile, for the campaign of Badosa, who showed resilience in her third-round tussle on Sunday against 20th seed Clara Tauson of Denmark.
Despite being bothered by back pain which forced her to request for a medical in the second set against Tauson, the 27-year-old displayed great resolve in pulling through with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory.
Badosa, however, appeared to be in some form of discomfort after the match and sought assistance in carrying her rackets.
Earlier, the Spanish ace drew an opening-round bye, then started her tournament bid with a 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(3) triumph over 18-year-old wildcard entry Victoria Mboko of Canada.
The former world No. 2 has had a history of injuries, including back issues. – Rappler.com