Alexandra Eala and Arthur Fils pull off major upsets at Miami Open

Alexandra Eala from Philippines serves to Magda Linette from Poland during a match of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open tennis tournament, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The high seeds were falling at the Miami Open on Wednesday.

Soon after unseeded wild card Alexandra Eala stunned No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek in a straight-set women’s quarterfinal, men’s top seed Alexander Zverev got bounced by No. 17 seed Arthur Fils of France, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a fourth-round men’s match postponed by rain.

Fils, who beat American Frances Tiafoe in his previous match in a marathon three setter, will face Jakub Mensik in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

In the third set, Fils broke Zverev at 3-3 and kept the German moving. On match point, Fils pounded a ball down the left sideline that the top seed couldn’t retrieve.

Fils, 20, received treatment on his back after the first set but rallied to win the next two, winning in two hours.

“I was feeling not great in the rallies,” he said. “I’ve had a little problem in my back since I was young, so sometimes it hurts me a little bit. I had to find a rhythm, 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.”

Eala, ranked 140th, is on the verge of becoming the first star player to ever come out of the Philippines after topping Swiatek 6-2, 7-5.

Eala became the third wild card to reach the Miami Open semifinals, following Justine Henin in 2010 and Victoria Azarenka in 2018.

She never rattled as the first four games went to at least one deuce and five of the first six games were service breaks. Swiatek held serve just twice in the match and committed 32 unforced errors in the one hour, 39-minute battle.

Eala has beaten three major winners during her remarkable run -- Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam winner from Poland.

“There is a lot of emotions, definitely,” said Eala, who had never beaten a top 40 player. “Happiness has to be on the top of the whole list.”

The Associated Press