Sorana Cîrstea played a remarkable match against the world No. 3 in WTA, Coco Gauff from the USA, losing in the third round of the WTA Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid, on the clay courts of Caja Magica, coming so close to a huge victory.
Cîrstea, ranked 26th in the world and 25th seed in the Spanish capital, lost in three sets, with a score of 6-4, 5-7, 1-6, after two hours and 19 minutes of play.
The first set was a real display of tennis, a demonstration by the 36-year-old Romanian born in Târgoviște, who announced at the beginning of the year, unfortunately, that this season would be her last dance in professional tennis. A clear 6-4 after just 47 minutes, against Coco Gauff, who made many mistakes from the baseline, constantly pressured by Sorana who always knew how and when to attack, and how to vary her favorite shots in the game.
Cîrstea had 6-4, 4-4 and the serve, a moment when she perhaps dropped psychologically, ending that set on the edge, with a defeat, score 5-7, thanks to Gauff's fantastic resilience. The same resilience was also evident at the beginning of the decisive set, when the second game lasted nearly 20 minutes, a game won by Sorana after saving multiple break points, but that was the swan song.
The Romanian succumbs physically and loses a match that could have been a wonderful story in Madrid.
Sorana had an ideal start in Madrid, with a two-set victory over Tyra Caterina Grant, score 6-2, 7-6 (5), in a match that lasted just under an hour and a half. On the other hand, Gauff easily defeated Leolia Jeanjean, with a score of 6-3, 6-0.