Alexandra Eala, a 19-year-old wildcard from the Philippines, produced a huge upset at the Miami Open on Wednesday, defeating world number two Iga Swiatek 6-2 7-5 to reach the semi-finals.
Ranked 140th in the world, Eala, the first woman from her country to reach the last eight of a WTA 1000 tournament, took advantage of a unusually poor display from Swiatek, keeping her focus as she fought back from 4-2 down in the second set.
Eala broke the Pole for the eighth and final time when Swiatek was serving to stay in the match at 6-5 down in the second set and looked stunned as she struggled to contain her emotions.
"I'm just in disbelief right now. It's so surreal," she said on court. "I'm so happy and so blessed to be able to compete with such a player on this stage," said Eala, who has now beaten three grand slam winners on her route to the last four at Miami -- having dealt with Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys before upsetting four-time French Open champion Swiatek.
"I'm trusting my shots and I have a great team to tell me that I can do it," she said.
Eala moved to Spain at the age of 13 to join Rafael Nadal's academy in Mallorca and Toni Nadal, the Spaniard's uncle and former coach, was in her box for the match.
"It meant a lot that he showed up here. It showed the confidence he had in me and the confidence the academy had in me," she said.
Eala will face the winner of Wednesday's quarter-final between Britain's Emma Raducanu and American Jessica Pegula.
"Just because I won this match or the one before doesn't make the next one any less tough. If anything it will be more tough, so it will take everything that I have," said Eala.
Swiatek will look forward to moving on to the clay season after conceding that she had been far from her usual level.
"I'm sure I wasn't playing my best game and I felt like my forehand collapsed a little, so it wasn't comfortable and Alexandra, for sure, used her chances and pushed me, so for sure she deserves to win this match," she said.
"I don't want to think about this too long. It's nice to learn from losses but there are other things ahead and I am happy we are going to play on clay."
Fils upsets Zverev
France's Arthur Fils upset top-seed Alexander Zverev with an oustanding display earning him a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over the German in the fourth round of the Miami Open on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old Frenchman will face 19-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik in the quarter-finals with both players looking for their first Masters 1000 semi-final spot.
Rallying from a set down, Fils showed great determination to fight his way back and go 4-1 up in the second set.
Zverev responded to take a 3-1 lead early in the third but again Fils refused to the let match slip from his grip.
Fils, using his athleticism and his powerful forehand, broke back 3-2 and then when Zverev went long on a return took a 4-3 lead.
Zverev held when serving to stay in the game at 5-4 down but Fils kept his composure to serve out for one of the biggest wins of his career.
The victory was all the more impressive given that Fils said he was suffering from back pain.
"I was feeling not great in the rallies. I've had a little problem in my back since I was young, so sometimes it hurts me a little bit," explained Fils.
"I had to find a rhythm, [be] more aggressive and come into the court to play my game and not let him play, because when you let him play he is one of the best tennis players in the world. I'm really happy about the way I did it," he added.
The fourth round contest was postponed to Wednesday after rain on Tuesday forced a change to the schedule.
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