FILIPINA tennis ace Alex Eala's star continued to shine as she earned a spot in the quarterfinals following the withdrawal of Spain's Paula Badosa in their Round of 16 match in the Miami Open on Monday night (Tuesday morning, Manila time).
Badosa, the former world No. 2 and now the 10th seed, withdrew due to a lower back injury, giving Eala a walkover as the 19-year-old extended her winning streak to four games although the win will not count in her overall win-loss record.
READ Here's what Alex Eala is up against next in Miami Open dream run
This won't matter anyway as she extended the furthest any Filipino player, male or female, has accomplished in the history of Philippine tennis.
Next up for her is either former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland, now No. 2, or Elena Svitolina of Ukraine, whose fourth-round match is set later in the day.
Entering the tournament as a wild card, Eala made a series of dramatic wins, ousting Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko to set up the fourth-round match with the Spanish star.
Her 6-4, 6-2 win over Keys, ranked world No. 5 and entering the match with a 19-20 record for the year, is considered the biggest upset so far of the WTA 1000 event - a tournament regarded as just below the grand slams.
Her run of three consecutive wins is the longest she has recorded in any tour-level competition prior to this tournament.
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