Miami, March 28
Jessica Pegula has ended the Cinderella run of teenage wildcard Alexandra Eala of the Philippines with a 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-3 victory in the Miami Open semifinal on Friday.
From 5-2 down to start the match, Pegula turned around the opening set, crucially breaking serve at 5-3 after Eala double-faulted on set point, on the way to a 2-hour and 26-minute win.
No. 140-ranked Eala, whose run this fortnight has included wins over Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys and No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek, became just the second wild card to defeat three or more Grand Slam champions in a single tour-level event, following Elina Svitolina at Wimbledon 2023. The 19-year-old also became the first player from the Philippines to reach a tour-level semifinal after her huge upset win over Swiatek on Thursday.
Pegula will next face world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. The American will now face the uphill challenge of winning only her third match against Sabalenka in eight previous attempts; her last win over the top seed came in Cancun during the 2023 WTA Finals.
Earlier, Sabalenka punched a ticket to her first Miami Open final with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 6 seed Jasmina Paolini. She has now won her last three meetings with the Italian, all without the loss of a set.