Eala stuns defending champion Swiatek to make Wimbledon history for the Philippines
The 21-year-old Alexandra Eala dethrones title-holder Iga Swiatek 7-6(9), 6-2 to become the first Filipino player to reach the second week of a Grand Slam.
The defending champion is out, and a 21-year-old from the Philippines is the reason. On a raucous Centre Court on Saturday, Alexandra Eala dethroned Iga Swiatek 7-6(9), 6-2 in the Wimbledon third round, ending the Pole's title defence and carrying herself into the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time. No Filipino player had ever reached the fourth round of a major; Eala has now done it in the most emphatic fashion imaginable.
The first set was the match. Eala raced 5-2 clear in a wild tiebreak, Swiatek clawed back four straight points to hold a set point at 6-5, and the left-hander steadied to take it 11-9. Once she broke at the start of the second set and surged to 4-0, the result was no longer in doubt, though nerves crept in as she needed three match points to seal it before sinking to her knees on the grass.
Swiatek, a multiple major champion who had already survived a first-round scare against Taylor Townsend, unravelled with forehand errors and five double faults, at one point hurling her racket into her bag in frustration. The defeat means no woman has successfully defended the Wimbledon title since Serena Williams in 2016. It also swings Eala's head-to-head with Swiatek to 2-1, after the pair split meetings in Miami and Madrid last year.
The moment landed far beyond SW19. Fighting back tears, Eala dedicated the win to "all the little girls with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks" back home, where a nation better known for rallying behind Manny Pacquiao has found a new sporting obsession. She next faces former finalist Jasmine Paolini for a place in the quarterfinals. Second seed Elena Rybakina fell the same afternoon, beaten by Elise Mertens, as the top half of the women's draw came apart.
