Alex Eala survives longest match of WTA career to kick off Miami Open

2026-03-19 - 22:10

MANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala banked on her improved fitness for a winning start in her Miami Open return. The Filipina survived the longest match of her WTA Tour career after gutting out a 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-3 win over Germany’s Laura Siegemund on Thursday, March 19 (Friday, March 20, Manila time), to advance to the round of 32 of the tournament that propelled her to greater heights. Battling back from a first-set collapse, Eala disposed of the seasoned Siegemund, 38, in 3 hours and 20 minutes. “It definitely was close. Very demanding physically and mentally, but that was one of my goals last year after this tournament, to improve physically, and here I am, fresh as a flower,” said Eala. The 20-year-old Eala held 3-0, 5-4, and 6-5 leads in the opening set only to witness the German world No. 53, who has been a pro for two decades, turn things around time and again. Even in the tiebreak, Eala surged ahead at 6-5 before Siegemund won the next three points to steal the grueling first set, which lasted for over 1 hour and 20 minutes. But seeing the opening set slip away hardly deterred Eala, who broke Siegemund early in each of the second and third sets en route to the victory that sent her to the third round of WTA 1000 event where her career took a turn for the better. In 2025, Eala — then ranked No. 140 in the world and a wild card — enjoyed a surprise run to semifinals following giant upsets over Grand Slam champions Iga Swiatek of Poland, Madison Keys of the United States, and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia. A lot has changed over past the year, with Eala climbing to a career-high No. 29 in the latest WTA rankings and receiving a first-round bye as the 31st seed in Miami. “It means the world to me and it says a lot of my progress and how I’ve developed as a player and as a person,” said Eala. “I came to Miami last year as a wild card, now I’m in the third round again so I’m really, really happy, and especially having been able to compete at this level today against an amazing fighter, so I’m really happy.” A Miami rematch with Swiatek looms for Eala as the world No. 3 and six-time major winner battles compatriot Magda Linette in the round of 64, the winner facing the Filipina next. – Rappler.com