"Aryna Sabalenka was dumped out of the Italian Open in the third round by Sorana Cirstea, the world No 1 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. The 28-year-old, who had been the favourite for the women's title in Rome, hadn't been knocked out of a tournament in the round of 32 since the Qatar Open in February last year."
"Sabalenka looked set for a quick and clean win on centre court after romping to the first set, but errors and grumbling soon began to creep in, in particular on her service game. Cirstea broke Sabalenka's serve three times on her way to levelling the match and she continued to pose problems heading into the decisive third. Sabalenka lost her serve for the fifth time after saving three break points to go 3-2 behind in the third set, and two games later she called for a medical time out for a problem with her left hip."
"Treatment appeared to get Sabalenka back into the groove once she drew level at 5-5 in the set. But Cirstea held her nerve to win the next two games, sealing her first ever win over a woman at the top of the world rankings with her first match point. Cirstea faced Linda Noskova in the next round after claiming the biggest win of her career."
"Cameron Norrie believes he is still well positioned for a strong performance at the French Open despite being shocked by his standard of play during Saturday's frustrating 6-3, 7-5 loss to Thiago Agustin Tirante in the second round of the Italian Open. Cameron Norrie had beaten Thiago Agustin Tirante at the Madrid Open two weeks ago."
Aryna Sabalenka was eliminated from the Italian Open in the third round by Sorana Cirstea, losing 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in Rome. Sabalenka had been a favorite for the women’s title and had not been knocked out in the round of 32 since the Qatar Open in February of the previous year. After winning the first set, Sabalenka’s errors increased, especially on her serve. Cirstea broke Sabalenka’s serve three times in the second set to level the match and continued to create pressure in the third. Sabalenka lost her serve again after saving three break points, then took a medical timeout for a left hip issue. Cirstea held her nerve at 5-5 and won the final two games to secure her first win over the world’s top-ranked player.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]