'Let’s keep dreaming!': Rafael Nadal drops touching reaction to his academy prodigy Alexandra Eala's dream run in Miami

Philippine wildcard Alexandra Eala pulled off what could go down as the biggest upset of the year with a stunning 6-2 7-5 upset of Polish world number two Iga Swiatek. What makes the victory even more stunning is that Swiatek is now the third Grand Slam champion to have been knocked out by Eala in the tournament after earlier wins over Australian Open champion Madison Keys and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko. Nadal's uncle and former coach Toni Nadal was in the stands watching on as she beat Swiatek.

Among those who celebrated Eala's win was none other than the legendary Rafael Nadal, whose academy the 19-year-old is an alumnus of. Nadal's uncle and former coach Toni Nadal was in the stands watching on as she beat Swiatek. "We are extremely proud of you, Alex. What an incredible tournament! Let’s keep dreaming!" said the 22-time Grand Slam champion on X.

Nadal's academy had also been extensively posting about Eala's progress in the match on X.

The big-hitting 19-year-old showed no signs of being intimidated playing against one of her idols and was instead a picture of poise for much of the game. Her demeanor broke only right at the end, when she looked rather bewildered and stunned after taking the winning point and looked almost unsure as she walked up to the net to gree Swiatek.

"I don't know what to say, I mean, complete just disbelief right now and I am on cloud nine," Eala said in her on-court interview. "It's forever in my heart."

Up next will be a match against American fourth seed Jessica Pegula, who beat 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu of Britain. Eala, who is ranked 140th in the world has already put Phillipines on the map in tennis. She became the third wild card to reach the Miami Open semifinals, following Justine Henin in 2010 and Victoria Azarenka in 2018.

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