Taking care of business

Extra security

There was still time for her to reflect on an old photograph of her meeting Swiatek at a graduation event at the academy two years ago, and to express her hope that her win would inspire youngsters in her homeland to take up the sport.

There have been many teenagers make dramatic entrances at the elite level of the WTA over the years, some have flourished, some have fallen away quickly, but few will have arrived with such a self-assured professionalism as the teenager from Quezon City.

Swiatek, who was playing the match with added security after being verbally abused by a spectator at the weekend, failed to hold serve throughout the first set, while Eala was swinging freely, unleashing winners from all over the court.

Swiatek, who has 22 WTA Tour titles to her name, hit a staggering 19 unforced errors in the opening set, and then received some advice from her coach before briefly leaving the court.

In the second set, Eala managed to overturn a 4-2 deficit and then held her nerve as Swiatek tried to serve out the set at 5-4, before ultimately closing it out with her eighth break of the match.

The victory made Swiatek the third Grand Slam winner Eala has knocked out of the women's draw, after her earlier wins over Australian Open champion Madison Keys and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Up next will be American fourth seed Jessica Pegula, who knocked out 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Britain 6-4,6-7 (3), 6-2.

Fils upsets Zverev

In the men's play, France's Arthur Fils upset top-seed Alexander Zverev with an outstanding display earning him a 3-6, 6-3,6-4 win over the German in the fourth round of the Miami Open on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old Frenchman will face 19-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals with both players chasing their first Masters 1000 semifinal spot.

Rallying from a set down, Fils showed great determination to fight his way back and go 4-1 up in the second set.

Zverev responded to take a 3-1 lead early in the third but again Fils refused to let the match slip from his grasp.

Fils, using his athleticism and his powerful forehand, broke back to 3-2 and then when Zverev went long on a return took a 4-3 lead.

Zverev held when serving to stay in the game at 5-4 down but Fils kept his composure to serve out for one of the biggest wins of his career.

The victory was all the more impressive given that Fils later revealed he was suffering from back pain.

"I was feeling not great in the rallies. I've had a little problem in my back since I was young, so sometimes it hurts me a little bit," explained Fils.

"I had to find a rhythm, (be) more aggressive and come into the court to play my game and not let him play, because when you let him play he is one of the best tennis players in the world. I'm really happy about the way I did it," he added.

The fourth round contest was postponed to Wednesday after rain on Tuesday forced a change to the schedule.

In the opening quarterfinal, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov battled back from a set down to beat Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (8), 6-4, 7-6 (3) in a riveting duel.

Agencies