(MENAFN) On Wednesday, Sorana Cirstea made her way to the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event for the first time in a decade, defeating Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-4 at the Miami Open. The 32-year-old Romanian, ranked 74th in the world, beat the highest-ranked opponent of her career by knocking off the second-ranked Sabalenka. Cirstea had previously defeated No. 4 Caroline Garcia earlier this month at Indian Wells and topped Garcia again in the second round at Miami.
Cirstea expressed her joy and surprise at her victory over Sabalenka, stating that she knew it was going to be a tough match, but she held her ground and was very happy with her performance that day. She will face either Petra Kvitova or Ekaterina Alexandrova in the semifinals, with the match being rescheduled to Thursday due to rain.
Alexandrova advanced to the semifinals on Tuesday after Bianca Andreescu suffered a left ankle injury and left the court in a wheelchair. On Wednesday, Andreescu tweeted that she tore two ligaments in her ankle and would be out indefinitely. Despite the setback, the 2019 US Open champion remained optimistic and stated that she would take it day by day and work hard to recover.
Sabalenka had a tough match with six double faults, three of them on break points, and made 21 unforced errors to just nine for Cirstea. Despite her age and past performances, Cirstea remained focused and believed in her game, working hard with her coach Thomas Johansson, with whom she had started working in December.
In the men's draw, 11th-ranked Jannik Sinner beat Emil Ruusuvuori 6-3, 6-1, advancing to the quarterfinals. Cirstea's comeback story is an inspiring one, and she will look to continue her impressive run at the Miami Open in the semifinals.
MENAFN30032023000045012476ID1105905636
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.