World No. 2 in women’s tennis, Aryna Sabalenka, was eliminated from the Miami Open after losing in straight sets to Sorana Cirstea in the quarter-finals. The second seed was defeated 6-4 6-4 by the Romanian player, who is currently ranked 72 places below Sabalenka in the world rankings.
Cirstea had already knocked out the fifth seed, Caroline Garcia, in the second round, and her victory over Sabalenka is one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far. The Romanian broke Sabalenka’s serve at the start of both sets, putting the Belarusian player on the back foot from the beginning of each set.
Sabalenka managed to break back to level at 4-4 in the first set, but she was unable to maintain the momentum and lost her serve again. In the second set, Cirstea broke Sabalenka twice more to secure the victory in just over one and a half hours of play.
The loss is a disappointment for Sabalenka, who had been in good form leading up to the quarter-finals. The Belarusian had won her last 10 matches on the WTA Tour and was considered one of the favorites to win the Miami Open. However, Cirstea’s impressive performance and her ability to disrupt Sabalenka’s game proved too much for the world No. 2 to handle.
Despite the defeat, Sabalenka can take some positives from her performance in the tournament. She has shown that she is a top contender in women’s tennis and will be looking to bounce back in her next event. Meanwhile, Cirstea will be hoping to continue her impressive run and secure a spot in the semi-finals of the Miami Open.
