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.
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