TENNIS: Cirstea stuns top seed Sabalenka at the Italian Open

Sorana Cirstea shocked top seed Aryna Sabalenka, beating her 2-6 6-3 7-5 in their third-round clash at the Italian Open on Saturday.

The 36-year-old Romanian, who will retire later this year, beat a world number one for the first time.

"I’m very happy with the win. I thought I played really well today. I’m working really really hard. It’s nice to have this result as payoff," Cirstea said.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka seemed to be struggling with an injury as the match progressed, and took a medical timeout when Cirstea was leading the third set 4-3.

Cirstea won the next game but Sabalenka fought back to make it 5-5. But Cirstea broke again to serve for the match.

Sabalenka, struggling with her backhand returns, hit the net and sent two shots over the baseline as Cirstea clinched victory.

It was Cirstea's second victory over Sabalenka in four meetings, having also prevailed in Miami in 2023, the first time they played each other.

"Maybe if I win the tournament, I promise I will think about (not retiring)," joked Cirstea, who owns four singles WTA titles.

-Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar/Reuters