Alexandra Eala’s Miami Open run has ended after she was defeated in an hour.
The Filipino tennis star lost to Karolina Muchova on Monday morning. Eala, the No. 31 seed, was thrashed by the 13th seed 6-0 6-2 in the fourth round.
Eala’s Miami Open Journey Ends
Eala became a fan favourite at last year’s Miami Open. She entered the tournament as a teenage wildcard ranked at No. 140 in the world. Eala beat three Grand Slam champions – Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys and Jelena Ostapenko – on the way to the semi-finals.
Since then, Eala has become a fan favourite. Tournament director James Blake has talked about her star power. She returned to the Hard Rock Stadium this year as the No. 31 seed and made it to the fourth round.
Match Details: Muchova’s Dominance
Muchova raced through the opening set in 25 minutes. She won the first 10 games of the match before Eala got one on the board. The deficit was too big, and there was nothing the 20-year-old could do as she suffered a one-sided defeat in the fourth round.
No. 13 seed Muchova becomes the first woman to book their spot in the quarter-finals this year. It’s her maiden Miami Open quarter-final.
Asked what she was most pleased with during the match, Muchova told Sky Sports: “I’d say to keep it, how you say, continuous, keeping up when it’s going – I don’t want to say too fast. But when you’re keeping it rolling, you just have to be cautious to not stop playing and still keep pushing. So I would say that I was still in the game, and was able to finish it.”
Ranking Impact and Future Outlook
Eala’s ranking is now set to take a hit after losing in the fourth round.
The Filipino star is currently sitting at a career-high of No. 29, but will drop 270 ranking points and is expected to fall outside of the world’s top 40.
Eala’s exit will come as a blow for the Miami Open, as Eala is a crowd favourite here. Tournament director Blake recently told Tennis Channel that Eala and Brazilian ATP star Joao Fonseca draw some of the biggest crowds, even though they aren’t top-ranked Grand Slam champions.
“Eala, it’s been quite a thrill ride for her this last year as well. I feel like last year, this event, it was a little bit of a coming-out party where she had some great results coming from a wild card position as well,” he said.
Muchova came to the Hard Rock Stadium full of confidence after lifting her biggest career title at the WTA 1000 event in Doha last month. She lost to Iga Swiatek in the fourth round of Indian Wells, but is now through to the last eight in Miami.
Reflecting on that Doha triumph, Muchova continued: “For sure it gave me a lot of confidence, but in tennis, it’s like, one day you get this, you win and the second day, you lose. It’s very up and down in tennis. Obviously, it was very nice. It was such a nice moment for me to finally win a title, some great tennis, a lot of matches, so it gave me some confidence for sure.”
Muchova is now through to the last eight in Miami.