Sorana Cirstea called Elena Rybakina “a great player and a sweetheart” after stunning the 2022 Wimbledon champion at this year’s US Open. Cirstea, ranked at No 30 in the world, upset No 4 seed Rybakina 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-4 in the US Open third round. Rybakina, 24, was considered among the top favorites for this year’s US Open title but Cirstea ended her run at Flushing Meadows early in the tournament. “She’s a great player. She’s number four in the world for a reason and she’s also a sweetheart and I think she’s wonderful for our tour. Iāve lost twice against her before, and sheās a very good player. It’s a great win for me, especially because I played well and I really think I gave everything I had tonight and I deserved this win. And again, thank you everyone for the support,” Cirstea said after beating Rybakina.
Sorana Cirstea and Elena RybakinaĀ© Getty Images Sport – Mike Stobe
Cirstea ends Rybakina’s run in the US Open third round
Cirstea, a former world No 21, made a positive start to the match as she claimed the first break of the match in the fourth game to open an early 3-1 lead. Up by a break, Cirstea held on to her service for the remainder of the set to clinch the first set. After winning the first set, Cirstea broke Rybakina in the first game of the second set but the Kazakh broke back immediately in the following game. In the 12th game – when Cirstea was serving to stay in the second set – she saved Rybakina’s two set points to force a tie-break. In the second-set tie-break, Cirstea saved two more set points but couldn’t save the fifth as Rybakina managed to force a third set. In the third set, Cirstea was three times up by a break but Rybakina three times recovered. But in the 10th game – when Rybakina was 4-5 down and serving to stay in the match – Cirstea broke the Kazakh for the fourth time in the set to complete a three-set win.