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Sorana Cirstea's joy knew no bounds after she upset second seed Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in the Miami Open quarterfinals on Thursday (March 29).
In the pair's first meeting, it was the 32-year-old Romanian who burst out of the blocks, grabbing the opener for the loss of four games. It was more of the same in the second, with Cirstea grabbing a late break to serve out the first top-two win of her career.
In the process, the Romanian reached her first WTA 1000 semifinal since finishing runner-up to the now-retired Serena Williams at the 2013 Canadian Open in Toronto. An elated Cirstea was understandably pleased with her win against one of the tour's in-form players. In her on-court interview, she said:
"I think I'm a bit speechless. I came out, knowing that it's gonna be a really tough match. Aryna hits so hard. So I knew I had to, to hold my ground and I'm very, very happy with my performance today. And yeah, it's a bit unexpected, to be honest."
The Romanian added that age, for her, is just a number. She stated that she is looking to mind her own business while also acknowledging her current coach Thomas Johansson.
"I guess people like to keep count of the age, the years, the results, but I never do that. You know, I just mind my own business. I just work hard, do my thing, believe in my game, work with my coach Thomas Johansson, who we just started in December. And, so far I think it's going great, and, like I said, I'm not defined by numbers, and I'm just trying to keep my head down and work hard. "
Cirstea will next take on Ekaterina Alexandrova or Petra Kvitova for a place in the Miami final on Sunday.
"It was a great day for me" - Sorana Cirstea after beating Aryna Sabalenka
Sorana Cirstea also commended the support she received, especially from Romanian fans, in her win against Sabalenka.
She said that Romania may be a small country, but the players tend to get support wherever they play:
"It was an amazing atmosphere today, and I enjoyed the crowd getting into the match and the support from everyone and also to see the Romanian flags means a lot."
Cirstea continued:
"We are a very small country, but everywhere we play, we have Romanians coming and supporting us, which which means a lot, you know. So it was a great day for me, and I'm very grateful to everyone that came out today to support both me and Aryna."
Her win over Sabalenka was Sorana Cirstea's fifth of the week in Miami. She's now two wins away from her first WTA 1000 title.
