MIAMI — Former champion Iga Swiatek earned a 7-6(2) 6-1 win over Elise Mertens that put the Polish second seed into the last 16 at the Miami Open while 2024 finalist Grigor Dimitrov beat Karen Khachanov to reach the fourth round.
With the win over Belgian 27th seed Mertens, Swiatek became the first player to reach the last 16 of a WTA 1000 event in 25 consecutive appearances.
“In the first set, my serve wasn’t working perfectly,” Swiatek said according to wtatennis.com. “I’m glad I was patient enough to just work for it, and in the second set I felt much better.”
On the men’s side, Bulgarian 14th seed Dimitrov, who lost to Italy’s Jannik Sinner in last year’s final, came back from one set down to secure a 6-7(3) 6-4 7-5 victory over Russian Khachanov.
Australian Open champion Madison Keys, also, was dumped out of the Miami Open third round, falling 6-4 6-2 to Filipino wildcard Alexandra Eala, while 2024 finalist Grigor Dimitrov beat Karen Khachanov to reach the fourth round.
Swiatek built a seemingly comfortable 5-2 lead in the first set but Mertens managed to claw back to 5-5 before the Pole ran away with the tiebreaker and breezed through the second frame.
The Pole has not lost before the last 16 at this level since Cincinnati 2021, where she lost her second-round opener (following a bye) to Ons Jabeur. The second-most consecutive last-16 appearances in WTA tournaments is 18, tallied by Maria Sharapova between Indian Wells 2011 and Rome 2013 inclusive.
Svitolina, who arrived in Miami fresh off a quarterfinal run at Indian Wells where she lost to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva, is now into the last 16 in Miami for the fifth time in her career.
In other early action, Alexandra Eala won eight of the first nine points, four of the first six games and ultimately the first set, it was clear something mysterious was at work.
Keys won the Australian Open this year, her first major singles title, and was bidding for her tour-leading 20th victory, but Eala — stubbornly, bravely anchored to the baseline — didn’t give in. She kept the surprisingly long rallies going and waited for Keys to crumble.
The final score out on the Grandstand court was 6-4, 6-2, and Eala is astonishingly into the Round of 16 at the Miami Open. Jumping for joy (literally), tears in her eyes, she fist-pumped her way to the stands and vigorously hugged members of her team.
Eala is the first Filipino player in the Open Era to score a WTA Top 10 win since the ranking system came into being in 1975. Eala is the first player ranked outside the Top 100 to reach the Round of 16 in a WTA 1000 event this season.
To put her accomplishment in context, her three main-draw match-wins are more than all players from the Philippines combined in the Open Era coming into this Miami Open.
Despite two visits from the trainer (and one medical timeout for what appeared to be a leg injury), Eala kept her energy up and the pressure on.
The most critical point of the match: Keys’ double fault on Eala’s third break-point opportunity with Keys serving to level the third set at 3-all.
In the end, the numbers were telling: Keys finished with 51 unforced errors, against only 22 winners. Eala was more efficient, with 13 winners and only 21 unforced errors, and broke Keys six times.
