Cirstea Stuns Top Seed Sabalenka at the Italian Open
Sorana Cirstea rallied from a set down and beat the world No. 1 for the first time, ending Aryna Sabalenka’s run in her final pro season.
- On Saturday, 36-year-old Romanian Sorana Cirstea defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka at the Italian Open in Rome, triumphing in three sets in a shock third-round upset with a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 scoreline.
- Sabalenka, the 28-year-old favorite, suffered her second consecutive surprise exit after falling to American Hailey Baptiste at the Madrid Open last week, having not exited a tournament in the round of 32 since the Qatar Open last year.
- Sabalenka dominated the first set but struggled with errors and service games; visibly bothered by lower back pain, she called for a medical timeout while trailing 4-3 in the final set before Cirstea secured victory.
- With this victory, Cirstea advances to the round of 16 to face Linda Noskova, while Sabalenka becomes the second star eliminated from the final major tournament before the French Open following Novak Djokovic's exit on Friday.
- Playing her final professional season, Cirstea said, "I'm very, very happy," as the result marked her first career victory over a world No. one player, rewarding her recent hard work.
72 Articles
72 Articles
Sorana Cirstea knocks out Sabalenka in Italian Open third round
Aryna Sabalenka was dumped out of the Italian Open in the third round by Sorana Cirstea on Saturday, the world number one falling to a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat in Rome. Sabalenka is the second star name to be eliminated from the final big tournament before the French Open, with Novak Djokovic being knocked out from the men’s event on Friday. READ: Alex Eala ousts Sorana Cirstea to reach Dubai quarterfinal The Seismic Shock of Sorana! Sorana Cirstea …
Intense day on clay in the capital of Italy.
Clayton News
![[your]NEWS](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroundnews.b-cdn.net%2Finterests%2Ffb6dc495f74049f513563c33352175eaa0ecd509.jpg%3Fwidth%3D24&w=64&q=75){kind=small}
Sorana Cirstea upsets Aryna Sabalenka in Rome for first victory over No. 1
Sorana Cirstea has announced she will retire after the season but the 36-year-old Romanian sure isn't just cruising through tournaments in the meantime.
Hard, really hard to imagine what happened this Saturday at the Italic Forum in Rome, where the world’s number one, Aryna Sabalenka, retires eliminated by a player who at the end of the year will hang the racket, Sorana Cirstea. Are you sure? “Well, if I win the tournament maybe I will reconsider it...,” jokes the Romanian, a fixed in the middle strip of the platoon during the last seasons and now benefitted by the doubts that have suddenly enve…
Defeated 2:6, 6:3, 7:5
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 38% of the sources lean Left
![[your]NEWS](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroundnews.b-cdn.net%2Finterests%2Ffb6dc495f74049f513563c33352175eaa0ecd509.jpg%3Fwidth%3D60&w=128&q=75)
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
