Iga Swiatek to face breakout star Alexandra Eala at Miami Open after 'tough' victory over Elina Svitolina

Iga Swiatek was able to wrap up a straight set 7-6(5) 6-3 late night victory over Elina Svitolina in the Miami Open fourth round, to make the quarter-finals here for just the second time and first since she won the tournament in in 2022. But next up for the Polish world No. 2 is breakout star Alexandra Eala, who made it through when her opponent Paula Badola withdrew.

Iga Swiatek of Poland reacts while playing against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine

Image credit: Getty Images

Iga Swiatek was made to work hard for her victory over Elina Svitolina late on Monday evening in Miami, the No. 2 seed coming through in two tight sets to complete the quarter-final line up.

It took a "patient" Swiatek over two hours to battle past Svitolina, as she continues to chase a first title of the year so far.

Her 7-6(5) 6-3 win sets up a tantalising match against Alexandra Eala, the 19-year-old breakout star receiving a fourth-round walkover when Paula Badosa was forced to pull out of their clash with a back injury.

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Svitolina proved a tough opponent for Swiatek to put away, despite breaking serve three times in the opening set. Each time Svitolina broke back straight away, with plenty of errors creeping in on both sides of the net.

Svitolina required a second set injury time out to receive treatment to her foot, with Swiatek eventually finding a way to win despite lacking some of her usual fluidity on court.

"It was much tougher to problem-solve, especially because Elina was also putting on some pressure," Swiatek said in her on court interview.

"I needed to adjust, and I’m happy that I picked the right moments at the end to play more aggressively, and sometimes I was more patient."

Bar her United Cup run as part of Team Poland in January, Swiatek has yet to make it to the final of any tournament.

That tough semi-final defeat to Madison Keys in Australia was followed by another semi-final loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Doha - two players who Eala has already beaten herself this week.

Two losses to Mirra Andreeva followed in Dubai and Indian Wells, leaving Swiatek still chasing her first title of the season.

But so far in the Sunshine state, she has ticked off three straight sets wins against three tough opponents in Caroline Garcia, Elise Mertens and now Svitolina.

Swiatek’s next opponent has made all the headlines this week - the Philippine star beating Ostapenko in straight sets, and following that up by defeating Keys 6-4 6-2.

Eala is just 19-years-old, playing as a wildcard here in Miami. She is a graduate of the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy, with Nadal himself already congratulating her on social media for her run this week.

Eala and Swiatek have never played on the tour, but they did practice in Miami back in 2021. They were also both victorious in the same Grand Slam in 2022, Swiatek winning the women’s singles in New York while Eala picked up the girls' singles trophy.

That practice in 2021 preceded Eala's main-draw debut match in Miami, where as a wildcard she lost in the first round of qualifying.

The winner will face either Emma Raducanu or Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals.

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