Filipina teenager Alexandra Eala's dream run at Miami Open ends with narrow defeat to Jessica Pegula
Eala had made history with a string of impressive results at the tournament, where she beat grand slam champions such as Iga Świątek, Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys.
The current world No. 140 had hopes of reaching her first WTA final but saw that dream dashed by world No. 4 Pegula, with the American winning in three tight sets – 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-3.
Despite losing, Eala wore a beaming smile on her face before walking off the court, with the crowd applauding her for a memorable run.
'To have a week like this, the stars need to align and they did this week, and hopefully I can keep that up, that is my goal now, to keep this up,' Eala said, per BBC Sport.
Eala has been one of tennis' most exciting prospects for some time, winning the US Open girls' singles title in 2022 and the girls' doubles titles at the 2021 French Open and 2020 Australian Open.
Her 2022 victory vaulted her to stardom back home and led to her gracing the cover of Vogue Philippines soon after.
Three years on and it seems Eala has finally found her feet on the senior tour.
Her dream run in Miami saw her became the first Filipina to reach a WTA semifinal and she will also become the first Filipina to break into the world's top 100 after reaching the final four.
'She's really good. She's a really good tennis player, goes for her shots, takes the ball early, competes really well, she's beaten a lot of top players this week,' Pegula said after winning the match.
'I don't think she needs me to tell her that she's a great player, that we're not going to see enough of her. We definitely are, and she proved that tonight.'
Pegula will now face world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Miami Open final.
Sabalenka booked her ticket in straight sets – 6-2, 6-2 – against Jasmina Paolini in the other semifinal on Thursday.
Despite all the success in her career, Sabalenka has never reached the final of the Miami Open but was grateful for elements of her game clicking during an impressive semifinal performance.
'I definitely say that this was one of the best matches in the season so far,' Sabalenka said after a dominant display where she hit 31 winners.
'I don't know. I was just so focused on myself, on the things I had to do today.
'It felt like everything was just, like, going smoothly my way. Yeah, super happy with the performance. I felt like I was in the zone.'
The Miami Open final will take place on Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Braintree team falls in first game of Little League World Series
Advertisement Every television screen was tuned to the ESPN broadcast, the game commentary barely audible over the chants and excited chatter. In the days leading up to the game, SouthSide Tavern had introduced Every table at the tavern had been reserved in advance, with placards marking spots for families and friends. 'We've been getting calls nonstop since last week,' said Stephen Dedalonis, 20, a Braintree native and host and food runner at the tavern. At one table, Emily Antonowicz and her 10-year-old son, Andrew, watched intently. Andrew, a player for another Braintree American team, clutched his cap to his head as he sat among friends. Advertisement 'A bit nervous,' he admitted when asked how he was feeling, adding that he hopes to be on a World Series team one day. 'This is amazing that they've made it this far, and we're so proud of them no matter what happens,' his mom said. Nearby, Chrissy Joseph was cheering on the team, but also one person in particular — her brother, Frank Fasoli, the team's general manager. Joseph had just talked to her brother the day before. 'He said, 'Chrissy, the boys are just having the time of their life,'' she said, adding that in their downtime they were playing pickup basketball with other teams and living in the moment. When she asked him how he was feeling, he replied 'We're underdogs, but we've always come through,' he told her. 'These boys are really good and they love what they do,' she said. 'They're playing because it's their passion, not because they're forced to.' Joseph's daughter, 14-year-old, Brooke Costelo, said, 'It's really cool to have a personal connection with the team that everyone knows about. I can't wait to see how much more they accomplish.' But as the game came to a close, the mood grew more somber. Braintree American fell to South Carolina in a shutout that shortened the game to just four innings under the mercy rule. The loss puts the team in the tournament's elimination bracket, where they'll have another chance to keep their run alive in a redemption game on Saturday. For fans like Antonowicz, the loss was just a setback. Advertisement 'In the words of Bill Belichick, we're on to Saturday,' she said with a tight smile after the final out. Joseph said she's confident the players can rebound. 'Keep your head up,' she urged the boys. 'Be proud of what you're doing and what you've accomplished — not many 12-year-olds can say that they've been in the World Series.' Sadaf Tokhi can be reached at
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Flushing Meadows increases prize money up 20% to $90 million
Eight years on since lifting the title, Sloane Stephens says the experience of winning the US Open as an American is 'unreal'. Stephens defeated compatriot Madison Keys to the title but it's Keys who has will have her eyes set on US Open glory this year after having secured her maiden Grand Slam title in Australia at the start of the with CNN's Amanda Davies, Stephens began by discussing the news that this year's US Open will offer record prize money and whether the move goes far enough to satisfy players financial demands.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Match Point: How To Serve The Honey Deuce At Home
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 07: The Grey Goose Suite at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on September 7, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo byfor Grey Goose) Getty Images Every year at the end of August, before Summer nights fade into Fall, the U.S. Open takes over the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center grounds in Queens, New York. And so does the Honey Deuce, the official cocktail of the U.S. Open. The drink debuted at the 2006 U.S. Open when Grey Goose became a sponsor and in recent years the sipper has catapulted to its own form of celebrity. Everyone and anyone at the U.S. Open wouldn't dare leave without posing with their Grey Goose Honey Deuce. Can't snag a ticket to the U.S. Open this year? No problem — you can still sip like you're courtside. Molly Horn, chief mixologist and spirits educator at Total Wine & More offered up tips for making the best version of this signature cocktail at home, whether you're toasting solo during a nail-biter match or serving a crowd at your own Grand Slam watch party. There is something so special about the Honey Deuce at the U.S. Open; so much so that it may not feel the same drinking from home. Do you have any tips, tricks or hacks for ensuring it still tastes awesome even when making it yourself? Horn: I would imagine for most home bartenders the challenge is the honeydew melon balls. There are plenty of great, quality lemonades on the market if you can't make it fresh yourself, and Chambord and Baron De Casterac are great (black) raspberry liqueurs — another option if you want a straight raspberry liqueur is Drillaud. For those honeydew balls, I would recommend getting a melon baller — which will make the process much faster and easier — and attacking the whole melon. If you haven't done this before, it's actually super easy, but having the right tool will make all the difference. If you do you want to make lemonade yourself, the key is to use fresh lemon juice and whisk it together aggressively with equal amounts of granulated sugar — the lemon juice will break down and dissolve the sugar much better than adding it to water alone first — then add your filtered water. I prefer a ratio of one part lemon juice, one part sugar, and four parts water for a nice and brightly tangy lemonade, but if that's too sweet or sour for you you can always adjust — just do so before you add it to the cocktail. What's the most common mistake people make when trying to recreate the Honey Deuce at home? Horn: A majority of the challenges I see for the home mixologist with this cocktail is using a shelf-stable lemonade that doesn't have the zip or tang of a fresh lemonade. Since that is the foundation of the cocktail, it's really important to either purchase fresh lemonade (from the refrigerated section of your shop or market, with a sell-by date within one to two weeks) or make it yourself. Can you talk through batching this cocktail and what that looks like? Horn: This is a great recipe for batching since it doesn't require any dilution (aka, it doesn't get shaken or stirred, just poured together). My biggest tip, as always, is just to make sure all of your ingredients are very cold (vodka in the freezer, other ingredients in the fridge for 24 hours+ before serving) in order to minimize over-dilution of your batch. I also recommend freezing melon balls overnight — not only will they work better to keep your batched cocktail nice and chilled, but they won't melt and over-dilute the way ice cubes would. Glassware and ice are also so important to this drink — what do you suggest? Horn: I like to serve it in a tall glass, like a Collins or a Highball. I personally prefer to freeze the honeydew balls and use those for 'ice' (since I also have my ingredients for the cocktail chilled in advance), but if you want to go for real ice it would look and taste great with a highball ice cube. You can find ice trays that make four long, wide, ice cubes that will fill up the length of your glass, keep your cocktail nice and cold, and take a long time to melt — allowing you to enjoy it at your leisure. Are there any other spins on this cocktail that could make it a bit more unique, while keeping the essence? Horn: This recipe is a great one for riffing — for one thing, using a sparkling lemonade adds a great effervescence I really enjoy. Elderflower plays nicely with the flavors in the cocktail, so adding a splash of elderflower liqueur or syrup is a really nice addition. And of course, many different fruit liqueurs will work great in place of raspberry if you want to switch it up, such as Drillaud Strawberry Liqueur or any of the Chinola flavors — which would also add a nice texture — especially passion fruit or pineapple.
