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MANILA, Philippines -- Filipina tennis ace Alex Eala scored a massive upset, defeating Katie Volynets in the opening round of the 2025 Miami Open, 6-3, 7-6(3), early Thursday morning (Manila time).
This is Eala’s first Miami Open main draw win, as she dug deep against the World No. 73 tennister.
The World No. 140 Filipina had a slow start, falling behind by two games in the first set, 3-1.
But she blanked her opponent the rest of the set as she took the stunning 6-3 victory.
In the second set, it was Eala’s turn to have a strong start, going up 3-1.
She carried the momentum to a 5-3 lead, moving to within a game to grab the victory.
But Volynets tied things up at 5-all, before the 19-year-old Asian Games bronze medalist grabbed the upper hand once again, 6-5.
And in the 12th game, the 23-year-old American controlled the tempo before Eala eventually committed an error that forced the extended set.
In the tie-break, Volynets took a 3-1 advantage, but Eala slowly, but surely climbed out of the hole.
Eventually, the scales tipped her way and a smash sealed her victory.
It was a close match, with Eala grabbing 39 receiving points compared to Volynets’ 33. Both tennisters won 36 service points and had no aces.
The Filipina, who was among the eight wildcard recipients in the tourney, will take on Latvia’s Je?ena Ostapenko in the round of 64. Ostapenko, who had a bye in the round of 128, is ranked 25th in the world.
Last year, Eala only managed to get to the second round of the Miami Open qualifiers before being defeated by Emiliana Arango.
