Iga Swiatek said Alexandra Eala “went all out” during their Miami Open quarterfinal match and the Pole admitted that she was feeling pressured throughout the encounter and that she didn’t really expect the world No. 140 to play “so flat.”
The Filipina wildcard, who introduced herself to the tennis world earlier in the tournament by beating Grand Slam champions Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys, saved the best for the Swiatek match. Right out of the gate, the 19-year-old came out firing and after she broke the world No. 2 four times during the first set, it was clear that she came to play and determined to become the first Filipina to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal.
While Swiatek managed to create some openings in the second set and even had a chance to serve out for the set at 5-4, the pressure kept coming from Eala’s side and the 140th-ranked wildcard finished the match with back-to-back breaks to seal a 6-2 7-5 win. During the match, the five-time Grand Slam champion sprayed a total of 32 unforced errors – 19 in the first set and 13 in the second.
Swiatek: Eala was aggressive, stayed on the target, played flat, some of the shots came out of nowhere…
“The fact that she was left-handed didn’t surprise me, but the truth is, she went all out. She made those returns quite long, and it wasn’t easy to return those shots. Plus, she was very relaxed and went all out. She felt the rhythm was good, and that helped her,” the former world No. 1 analyzed.
“I didn’t know she was going to play so flat, but she was very aggressive and stayed on target the whole match. And a lot of these shots were coming out of nowhere. But I could still clearly see that she was trying to push forward and pressure me. So it worked out pretty well for her.”
The Miami quarterfinal loss continues Swiatek’s rough start to 2025 and extends her title drought, which has been ongoing since last June.
