Alex Eala falls short vs Pegula, ends dream run in Miami Open

Alex Eala’s dream run in the Miami Open came to a close on Friday as the Filipina tennis ace fell short against world no. 4 Jessica Pegula, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3 in the semifinals.

READ MORE | Alex Eala at the 2025 Miami Open

Eala had an early 5-2 lead in the first set before Pegula recovered and took the said set.

The Filipina was then seen in a timeout early in the second set as her ankle was tended to while Pegula was leading 3-1. However, Eala managed to recover and claimed back-to-back points to tie the set. Eala then took a 4-3 lead but Pegula returned to form, scored two straight and took the lead, 5-4. The 19-year old wildcard, however, still went all in and salvaged the set and tie at 5-all before claiming a 6-5 lead.

With both players somewhat tired as they chased a point, Eala managed to complete her second set comeback to extend the match.

Pegula and Eala went back and forth in the third set as the two players were tied 3-3, but Pegula’s composure and experience eventually handed her the finals spot against Aryna Sabalenka.

The world no. 4 had good words for her opponent.

“She’s really good, [a] really good tennis player,” Pegula said in an on-court interview.

“Goes for her shots, takes the ball early. Being a lefty is always tricky. [She] competes really well. Obviously, she has beaten a lot of players this week, I don’t really think she needs me to tell her that she’s a great player.”

“She proved that tonight. That was really tough,” she added.

Before this, Eala defeated three Grand Slam champions in Jelena Ostapenko (Round of 64), Madison Keys (Round of 32) and Iga Swiatek (quarterfinals).

With her semis stint, Eala is expected to earn a prize money worth USD 332,160 and 390 ranking points.

The Filipina player is also expected to enter the top 100 of the women’s world rankings.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News