Sorana Cirstea explained her delight after knocking out Elena Rybakina to reach the last 16 at the US Open.
The Romanian edged out the former Wimbledon champion 6-3 6-7(6) 6-4 to reach the last 16 in New York for the very first time.
It was an impressive performance from Cirstea, who broke on five occasions and overcame a late surge from the fourth seed to seal a place in the second week.
After the match the world number 30 spoke about her delight at reaching the second week at the US Open, “I’m very, very happy with the win today. I’ve lost twice against her before, and she’s a very good player, No. 4 in the world, and I knew it [was] going to be a tough battle,” Cirstea told the US Open website.
“I have been playing for quite a few years, and this was the best crowd I’ve ever played in front of, so thank you. It’s a great win for me, especially because I played well, and I really think I gave everything I had tonight, and I deserve this win.”
As a result of Cirstea’s 19th victory against top ten players, the Romanian will now play Belinda Bencic for a place in the quarter-finals after the Swiss defeated Lin Zhu in three sets.
After the match Bencic spoke about what makes her game so effective on hard courts, “I mean, I think it’s combination, for sure, the conditions suits me,” Bencic explained in her press conference.
“The hard court is a good speed I think for my game. This year we have different balls, but still I think the air is pretty humid also in the day and in the night, so it’s not flying like crazy like Indian Wells, let’s say. I think it suits me very good.
“From the first time I was here, I really enjoy to be here. It’s the biggest stage so I really want to win. I’m trying and fighting my best in the matches.”
Heading into Sunday’s clash, Cirstea leads the head-to-head 2-1.
