Alexandra Eala moves into Miami Open semifinals as Zverev and Cerúndolo say goodbye

Filipina Alexandra Eala, ranked 140th in the world, delivered one of the biggest surprise upsets of the tennis season on Wednesday by eliminating Polish star Iga Swiatek and advancing to the Miami Open semifinals.

The men's tournament also saw a shake-up with the elimination of top-seeded German Alexander Zverev and the exit of Argentina's Francisco Cerúndolo on a day when Novak Djokovic was unable to compete due to exceeding the permitted nighttime schedule.

The organizers scheduled five matches on center court, the maximum allowed, with the first of them starting at 13H00 local time.

That opening game yielded Alexandra Eala's emphatic and unexpected 6-2, 7-5 victory over Iga Swiatek, the world number two and champion of this WTA 1000 tournament in 2022.

Eala, 19 years old and alumna of Rafael Nadal's academy, was ratified as the great revelation of an event in which she competes by invitation.

In her magical run she had eliminated two other Grand Slam champions like Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and American Madison Keys, winner of the last Australian Open.

She got through the round of 16 with the injury withdrawal of Spain's Paula Badosa and on Wednesday claimed her biggest victim in Iga Swiatek, one of the bosses of the circuit with her five Grand Slam titles.

"I don't know what to say, I can't believe it. It's so unreal," declared an amazed Eala. "I'm so lucky to have faced such a player on such a great court. This will be etched in my heart forever."

Before the gaze of Toni Nadal, director of his illustrious nephew's academy in her box, the left-handed Eala signed a portentous performance in the return, breaking an astonished Swiatek eight times.

The Florida crowd cheered her on excited to witness one of the most unlikely stories of the year in the sport.

"She played very relaxed, she went for it. She got into a good rhythm and that helped her," Swiatek described. "Some of her shots were coming out of nowhere. She was really aggressive and it worked for her today."

Godmother of her graduation

In a twist of fate, Swiatek was the guest of honor at Eala's graduation at Nadal's academy in Manacor (Spain) in June 2023.

"I was very lucky to have her at my graduation," the Filipina recalled. "She was there for the whole ceremony with my class and she threw the cap in the air with us and I was next to her. It's very surreal to see how circumstances changed and today I faced her on the court."

Rafael Nadal himself sent a message of congratulations to the tennis player, who joined his tennis school at the age of 13.

"We are extremely proud of you Alex, what an amazing tournament! Let's keep dreaming," the Spaniard wrote on X.

To reach the final, the Filipina will have to get a third Top-10 player, Jessica Pegula, out of the way.

Ranked fourth, Pegula beat Britain's Emma Raducanu (60), another resurgent player in Miami, where she strung together four wins for the first time since her resounding triumph at the 2021 U.S. Open, 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 in her quarterfinal crossover.

Djokovic-Korda match postponed

Following Swiatek also took the exit for men's number two Alexander Zverev, falling to French up-and-comer Arthur Fils in a round of 16 clash postponed on Tuesday due to rain.

Fils, 20, made a thrilling comeback to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Zverev, who was the top seed in this Masters 1000 tournament due to Jannik Sinner's suspension.

Of the ATP top-10, only two survivors remain: American Taylor Fritz (4) and Serbian Novak Djokovic (5), who is aiming for a seventh crown in Miami with which he would reach 100 ATP titles in his legendary career.

The Balkan giant was supposed to close Wednesday's program facing American Sebastian Korda. However, as the previous clash between Pegula and Raducanu concluded at 23H30 local time, the rule of not starting matches beyond 23H00 was applied.

Djokovic and Korda will meet on Thursday evening. The only completed quarter-final was between Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who came out on top 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).

Runner-up in the last edition, Dimitrov delivered a sensational exercise of survival to leave Cerúndolo without his second Miami semifinals.

The tennis player from Buenos Aires let slip an opening set in his favor and then a 3-0 lead in the deciding set, in which he also lost a match ball before succumbing in the final tiebreak.