It will be World No. 2 and five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek up against Filipina Alex Eala in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open.
Iga Swiatek overcame Elina Svitolina’s first-set challenge to reach the quarterfinals of the Miami Open, 7-6(5), 6-3, on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) where she will meet the Philippines’ tennis sensation Alex Eala.
The five-time Grand Slam champion first fended off Svitolina via tiebreak in the first set with both hitters going neck-and-neck, before she claimed victory to take the 1-0 advantage.
Then in the second set, the Polish hitter seized a dominant 4-1 lead before Svitolina made a case for herself with back-to-back game wins. She also broke Swiatek’s serve.
But Swiatek broke back in Game 8 after two deuces to swing momentum back on her side.
She then easily closed out in Game 9 after holding her serve.
Swiatek thus sets up the clash against Eala who marched on to the quarterfinals via walkover.
Eala’s Round of 16 matchup Paula Badosa, ranked No. 11 in the world, withdrew from the tournament due to an injury she sustained in the third round.
[READ: Alex Eala through to Miami Open quarters after Paula Badosa withdraws due to injury]
Eala is thus faced with the biggest match of her career against Swiatek. The Polish tennister has spent multiple weeks as No. 1 in the WTA rankings as well before being bumped down to No. 2 in October of last year.
Interestingly enough, Swiatek lost to two of Eala’s previous Miami Open foes — Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys — in two earlier tournaments this year.
She first fell against Keys in the semifinal of the Australian Open where the American eventually won the tournament.
She then lost to Ostapenko in Qatar also in the semifinals, which extended the Latvian’s winning streak on head-to-head against Swiatek to 5-0.
Eala and Swiatek are slated to face each other in the quarters scheduled on Wednesday, Manila time.