Philippines' tennis phenom Alex Eala saw her Miami Open campaign come to a dramatic end as she lost her last-16 match to Czech player Karolina Muchova in an hour.
Doha champion Muchova eased past last year's semi-finalist Eala 6-0, 6-2 to qualify for her third quarter-final of 2026.
Muchova was in complete control of the contest, firing 20 winners against just 11 unforced errors. By contrast, Eala committed 13 unforced errors and had only seven winners.
The opening set lasted just 22 minutes as Muchova conceded just six points. Eala did not reach game point until the third game of the second set. By that time, the match was as good as over.
Muchova seemed in a hurry to finish the match as she raced to a 6-0, 4-0 lead. But a wild Muchova drive volley allowed Eala to hold for the first time and avoid a double bagel.
"It felt pretty good," Muchova said after the win.
"I mean, you get nervous here and there when it's going - I don't want to say easy, but when the score is in your favour, you have to be cautious."
Meanwhile, American trio of No 4 seed Coco Gauff, No 5 seed Jessica Pegula and unseeded Hailey Baptiste also advanced to the quarter-finals.
Gauff took a three-set battle with Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
"I guess it wouldn't have to happen any other way than to put some work in," Gauff said. "I think in the previous times I've played here, I've had some tough matches. Maybe mentally wasn't in there. Today I just wanted to stay mentally in there."
Amanda Anisimova fell in straight sets to Swiss No 12 Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-2. Bencic takes on Gauff in the last eight; the American has won four of their six matches.
Pegula breezed past Romanian 34th seed Jaqueline Cristian 6-4, 6-1 in 68 minutes. Pegula moved one step closer to her second WTA 1000 title of the year after previously capturing the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Pegula will now face Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who took down Australian Talia Gibson 6-2, 6-2 in 64 minutes.
Baptiste defeated a seeded player for the third straight round to reach her first WTA 1000 quarter-final. After eliminating Liudmila Samsonova of Russia and Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, Baptiste took down Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-4 in the Round of 16.
Baptiste hit 11 aces and saved nine of 10 break points in her latest win.
"I think that I'm a pretty aggressive player," Baptiste said after the match. "I like to go after my shots, and I've had to learn to balance the aggressive and conservative game style and know when to actually pull the trigger. I've got a pretty good balance right now."
She next faces World No 1 and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian eased past Qinwen Zheng of China, 6-3, 6-4.
Victoria Mboko of Canada will meet Muchova in the last eight after defeating Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva 7-6, 4-6, 6-0.
