Sorana Cîrstea, decisive victory in the second round of the tournament in Rome » She left only two games to her opponent!

One of the two Romanians on the main draw in Rome, Sorana Cîrstea, the other being Jaqueline Cristian, had to pay attention to two games on the men's grid before entering Court 13 for her match in the second round. As the 26th seed, the Romanian did not perform in the inaugural round.

Fortunately, the ATP matches were short, two sets each, 3 hours and 12 minutes in total, and the Romanian once again found herself face to face with Tatjana Maria. The two experienced players, the Romanian is 36 years old, the German 38, had recently fought at Indian Wells, and a total of 6 times until Rome.

Cîrstea was leading 5-1, but all the matches had a pronounced note of balance. On the Romanian clay, however, the favorable start belonged to the “tricolor”, which quickly distanced itself to 3-0. A break in the second game facilitated his breakaway, which he consolidated with a safe service game.

Maria is one of the most versatile players on the circuit, with a technical arsenal rarely seen in today's tennis, while Sorana comes with a combination of quick, accurate shots and the occasional break of rhythm. A contrast of styles that this time did not have much time and chance to show off.

Sorana Cîrstea, debut inspired by the match, then clear victory

The Romanian controlled her service games, collected many forehand winners and had only one trickier game in the first set, at 4-2. After solving it, he also closed the act with another break, 6-2.

And the trend continued in the second part of the match, in which Sorana started again, breaking in the second game. Continuing to hit the ball cleanly, aggressively, moving excellently in all points of the field, he had an answer to any attempt of an opponent on an unfortunate day.

Again, Cîrstea had a more complicated range of service, but she managed to get it to the shore for one 5-0 majestic. Then he kept his composure and consistency on the return, achieving the most decisive victory in the duels with the German, 6-2, 6-0.

Brutal performance from Cirstea to start her last Rome campaign!

54 minutes pic.twitter.com/sweGXD65mU

— José Morgado (@josemorgado) May 7, 2026

65of WTA points and a check for 46,080 euros was secured by Sorana Cîrstea by qualifying in the 3rd round in Rome

Next, her opponent will be the winner of the match Aryna Sabalenkathe world leader, and Barbora Krejcikovathe Czech double Grand Slam champion, also scheduled today, not before 21:30, at the end of the program on Campo Centrale. Against Belarus it is led with 2-1 in direct matches, as in the case of the other potential opponent.

Sorana is making her eighth main draw in Rome, a significantly paler presence compared to other WTA 1000 tournaments, and her first appearance was in 2012. In her debut, she reached the third round, and this remained her best result until 2024, when she advanced to the round of 16, being defeated by the American Madison Keys.

In 2025, the Romanian did not perform at the Foro Italico due to a calf injury, which occurred right during the warm-up before the match in the 1st round with Caroline Dolehide (US). In the end, the problem turned out to be much more serious, which is why the Romanian could not later participate in the Grand Slam tournament at Roland Garros.