Miami Open: Pegula passes Raducanu test, Eala stuns Swiatek

Miami: Jessica Pegula stopped the string of upsets at the Miami Open by ending the stalwart run of Britain’s unseeded Emma Raducanu.

The fourth-seeded Pegula won 6-4 6-7(3) 6-2 in a two hour, 25-minute battle, to move into her third Miami Open women’s semifinal in four years. Pegula, the last American in the field, faces the teenage wild card from the Philippines, Alexandra Eala, on Thursday.

In a nearly three-hour, men’s quarterfinal, a cramping, 14th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov barely survived the oppressive humidity to outlast No. 23 seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(3).

Dimitrov was led off the court by a tournament doctor and ATP physio after sitting in his chair for over 25 minutes, saying he was feeling “dizzy.”

He will face the Djokovic-Korda winner in the quarterfinals. The high seeds were falling earlier on Wednesday.

Soon after unseeded wild card Eala stunned No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek in a straight-set women’s quarterfinal, men’s top seed Alexander Zverev got bounced by No. 17 seed Arthur Fils of France, 3-6 6-3 6-4 in a fourth-round men’s match postponed by rain.

“I was feeling not great in the rallies,” he said. “I’ve had a little problem in my back since I was young, so sometimes it hurts me a little bit. I had

to find a rhythm, more aggressive and come into the court to play my game and not let him play.

“Because when you let him play, he is one of the best tennis players in the world. I’m really happy about the way I did it.”

Eala, ranked 140th, is on the verge of becoming the first star player to ever come out of the Philippines after topping Swiatek 6-2 7-5. Eala became the third wild card to reach the Miami Open semifinals, following Justine Henin in 2010 and Victoria Azarenka in 2018.

She never rattled as the first four games went to at least one deuce and five of the first six games were service

breaks. Swiatek held serve just twice in the match and committed 32 unforced errors in the one hour, 39-minute battle.