(Miami) Surprise in Miami: Aryna Sabalenka (2nd in the world), who was among the favorites of the Florida WTA 1000, was eliminated in the quarter-finals, beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Romania’s Sorana Cirstea (74th), Wednesday .
The 24-year-old Belarusian, victorious at the Australian Open and who remained on a defeat in the final of Indian Wells, where the Kazakh Elena Rybakina took her revenge from Melbourne, was betrayed by too many irregularities in her game , having generated a lot of nervousness, and vice versa.
More consistent and solid in the exchanges, Cirstea, who also had the scalp of Caroline Garcia (4th) in the 2nd round, took advantage of the feverishness of his opponent on serve and backhand, managing to break it twice to pocket the first run in 36 minutes.
Sabalenka did not hide her frustration, coming close to smashing her racquet several times on the ground.
After giving up her serve again at the start of the second set, the Belarusian pulled herself together, her power finally being backed up with a bit of precision. But it was only momentary, because she gave in again on her commitment, offering a new break to her rival on her sixth double fault.
The 32-year-old Romanian did not fail to conclude then, reaching for only the second time the last four of a tournament in this category, just below the Grand Slams, ten years after having succeeded in Toronto, where Serena Williams stood in her way to the final.
In search of a third title on the circuit, Cirstea will be opposed to the Czech Petra Kvitova (12th) or the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (18th).
