Mirra Andreeva and Madison Keys suffer shock defeats in Miami Open upsets

Australian Open champion Madison Keys faced an unexpected defeat at the Miami Open on Sunday, losing to 19-year-old Filipina wildcard Alexandra Eala.

Additionally, 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva, who had recently achieved consecutive WTA 1000 victories in Dubai and Indian Wells, was also eliminated in the third round, marking the end of her 13-match winning streak with a three-set loss to American Amanda Anisimova.

Eala's victory over the fifth-seeded Keys, with a score of 6-4, 6-2, led her to embrace her team and celebrate enthusiastically, as she made history by becoming the first woman from the Philippines to defeat a top-10 player since the inception of the ranking system in 1975.

Eala, the champion of the girls' singles at the 2022 US Open and a resident of the Rafael Nadal academy in Mallorca since the age of 13, is set to compete against Spain's Paula Badosa for a place in the quarterfinals.

"Growing up it was tough," she said. "You didn't have anyone from where you're from to pave the way. Of course, you had many people to look up to around the world, but I think - I hope this takes Filipino tennis to the next step," Eala said in her on-court interview.

Keys, who was badly beaten by Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells semi-finals, conceded she was well short of her best form.

"My serve was not really there today and I just kind of felt a little flat - and when you are playing someone who makes a ton of balls back and absorbs really well, that's not really the keys to success," said the American.

Andreeva, seeded 11th, aimed to enhance her ranking with a strong performance in Miami; however, she seemed to struggle with an injury, resulting in her defeat against 17th-seeded local player Anisimova.

During the match, Andreeva received extensive medical attention for her abdominal issue while trailing 2-1 in the first set, which she ultimately lost 7-6 (7/5).

She made a comeback by dominating the second set with a score of 6-2, but Anisimova secured victory in the third set, winning 6-3 after a grueling two-hour and 49-minute match.

Anisimova is set to compete against Emma Raducanu in the fourth round, following Raducanu's advancement due to her American opponent McCartney Kessler retiring from their match due to injury in the second set.

SportsLigue