Home favorite and No. 5 seed Madison Keys suffered a shock defeat in the Miami Open third round to wildcard Alexandra Eala, while Iga Swiatek reached the round-of-16 by beating Elise Mertens.
The Filipino, who is ranked at No. 140 in the world and upset 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko in the Miami second round, also beat the reigning Australian Open champion 6-4 6-2 to earn back-to-back wins over Grand Slam champions.
In her next match, 19-year-old Eala will take on another well-known name - 10th-seeded Paula Badosa.
Meanwhile, Swiatek ousted Mertens 7-6 (2) 6-1. For a place in the Miami quarterfinal, the second-seeded Pole will battle against No. 22 seed Elina Svitolina, who beat Karolina Muchova today.
Eala reacts to stunning Keys
By beating world No. 5 Keys. the 19-year-old became the first Filipino player to win against a top-10 player. When asked about her feat, the world No. 140 appeared to be a bit in disbelief but admitted that she is hoping this is just the start of something bigger.
You have to ask the country. Growing up it was tough.. You didnt have anyone where youre from to pave the way. I hope this takes Philippines tennis to another step," Eala said.
In the first set, Keys three times recovered from a break down but the Filipino kept pressing and won the opener after earning her fourth break in the 10th game. Up by a set, the wildcard remained fully locked in and completed the job in two sets after breaking the American twice in the second set.
