Jessica Pegula of United States is congratulated by Alexandra Eala of Philippines after their match during the Miami Open Presented by Itau at Hard Rock Stadium on March 27, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Matthew Stockman, Getty Images/AFP

MANILA -- World no. 4 Jessica Pegula had nothing but words of praise for Alex Eala after she avoided an upset at the hands of the Filipino teenager in the semis of the Miami Open on Friday morning (Manila time).

Eala had stunned three higher-ranked opponents -- including world No. 2 Iga Swiatek -- in her Cinderella run, but her campaign came to an end against Pegula at the Hard Rock Stadium. 

The American held firm in the third set for a 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 6-3 triumph that took over two hours.

READ: Dream run ends for Alex Eala with loss to Pegula in Miami Open semis

"I'm so tired. So, so tired," Pegula said in an on-court interview after eliminating Eala and setting up a finals showdown against world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

As she had time and again throughout the tournament, Eala had shown no fear of the moment and went hit-for-hit with Pegula, even surging to a 5-2 advantage in the opening set before the American recovered.

The Filipino teenager mounted a rally of her own in the second, overturning a 1-3 deficit to force a decider where Pegula eventually broke her serve and took control.

When they met at the net after the final point, Eala was heard telling Pegula: "It was so amazing to play with you."

"I mean, she's really good," Pegula said of Eala afterward. "Really good tennis player. Goes for her shots, takes the ball early, rips, being a lefty so it's tricky. Competes really well."

"I mean, obviously, she's beaten a lot of top players this week. I don't really think she needs me to tell her that she's a great player, that we're not gonna see enough of her," she added. "But we definitely are, and she proved that tonight. I mean, that was really tough."

The 19-year-old Eala said afterward that she had no regrets, and refused to make any excuses after turning her left ankle early in the second set and having it re-taped during a medical timeout. 

"I literally gave everything I had, I'm half tape, I'm like a mummy. I did everything and I have no regrets," she said. "To have a week like this, the stars need to align and they did this week, and hopefully I can keep that up -- that is my goal now, to keep this up."

Eala defeated three higher-ranked opponents en route to the semis: world No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko in the second round, world No. 5 Madison Keys in the third round, and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals.

She entered the Miami Open as the world No. 140, becoming the lowest-ranked semifinalist in the history of the tournament. Her ranking is expected to rise to No. 75 this week after her string of big results. 

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