'So surreal' - teenager Eala stuns out-of-sorts Swiatek

Five-time major champion Iga Swiatek was on the end of a monumental shock as Filipina teenager Alexandra Eala continued her dream run to reach the Miami Open semi-finals.

Second seed Swiatek, playing with increased security in Miami after being verbally abused by an "aggressive and taunting" fan, was completely out of sorts as she lost 6-2 7-5 to the world number 140.

The 23-year-old's serve was broken eight times as she continually struggled to hold serve, while her baseline game was shaky and led to a host of forehand errors.

Eala, 19, remained composed and focused as she completed the biggest win of her career.

"It might be one of the biggest upsets I've been on the side of the court for," said former British number one Tim Henman, who was watching in his role as a Sky Sports analyst.

Eala, who was given a wildcard to play at the WTA 1000 tournament, will face Britain's Emma Raducanu or American fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.

Next week she will break into the world's top 100.

Coming from a country with little tennis pedigree, Eala is already accustomed to being a trailblazer for the Philippines - even though she is still a teenager.

In 2021, she became the first Filipino to win a WTA Tour match and first to win a junior Grand Slam crown with the 2022 US Open title.

The New York triumph even led to the teenager gracing the cover of Vogue back home.

Now Eala has announced herself to a wider global audience, having beaten some of the biggest names on the WTA Tour to reach the last four.

A graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy, she had only won two main-draw matches before her stunning run in Miami.

Three of her four victories at the WTA 1000 event - the tier of tournaments below the Grand Slams - have come against Grand Slam champions.

A second-round win over 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko was followed by a seismic win over world number five Madison Keys - who won the Australian Open in January - in the third round.

Eala received a walkover in the fourth round when Spanish 10th seed Paula Badosa withdrew injured, but showed again why she is regarded as an emerging star with a quality performance against Poland's Swiatek.