Sorana Cîrstea, the first player from Romania qualified in the 2nd round at the Transylvania Open! Tuesday's results and schedule

Sorana Cîrstea, an athlete in the last season of her career, approached this year's edition of the Transylvania Open as the number 3 favorite for the title. This status, but also the fact that the 35-year-old player had never managed to win a match at the tournament in Cluj, came with some pressure for her.

Sorana Cîrstea broke the ice at the Transylvania Open: “It's the 3rd year and only the first victory”

For this reason, the duel with Kamilla Rakhimova was not easy at all. Cîrstea controlled the first set and prevailed 6-4, but the Uzbek started the second sequence well and, at one point, was leading 4-2.

The tennis player ranked 36th in the world kept her composure and, pushed from behind by the support of the BTarena fans, turned the result around and won 6-4, 6-4 after one hour and 41 minutes.

Therefore, Cîrstea became the first Romanian to get access to the round of 16 of the Transylvania Open, where she will meet Tamara Zidansek (28 years old, 151 WTA).

“Naturally, I am happy with the victory. It is the third year here in Cluj and it is only the first victory. I had some emotions, because normally I want to play well here at home. I'm happy with this match, that I managed to win in two sets. We had good periods of play, a little more defensive periods. But, overall, a good match and I'm glad to have the first victory here in Cluj”, declared Cîrstea at the press conference.

Out of the 20 games played in the match, 8 were breaks. When asked how she found the right solution to win, the champion from Cleveland answered as follows:

Bit of a weird stat, because I felt like I served really well today. I think I had more than 10 aces and in many moments the service took me out. At the same time, I lost my service a few times and probably hence the high number (no of breaks).

I am a player who can serve well and return well. I am quite complex and then I can break anytime. A match that I dominated, so to speak. One single moment, at 2-2, when she broke away at 4-2, that's when I lost a bit of control. The balls had gotten quite big and I couldn't get into the field to hit them. But then at 4-2, with new balls, I felt the game was in my hand.

And, again, I'm glad we finished in two sets, because the match would have been very complicated if we'd gone three sets

– Sorana Cîrstea

Sorana Cîrstea, in the 1st round at the Transylvania Open/Photo: Imago Images

Sorana Cîrstea's name, chanted by fans: “It was extraordinary”

The Cluj audience appreciated Sorana's performance and chanted her name after the interview on the pitch. Here is what the athlete said about that moment:

“It was amazing and, as I said on the pitch, these are the memories that will last a lifetime. I love tennis, I love everything about this sport and it has given me so many things. And one of those things is supporting people.

As I got older, I was able to enjoy this support more and more, to appreciate it. And that's why I wanted so much in my last year to be able to play in Cluj again. As I said before, even though it's my last year, I have a lot of goals. I am a very ambitious person. I'm ranked 30th or so in the world and I feel like I'm competitive with the top players.

I'm glad to arrive here in Cluj in good shape and I hope I can keep this form as long as possible this week.”

Results recorded on Monday, February 2

Simple

• Elena Ruxandra Bertea (19 years old, 303 WTA) vs. Kaja Juvan (25 years old, 100 WTA, Slovenia): 3-6, 4-6

• Karolina Pliskova (33 years old, 1057 WTA) vs. Anastasia Zakharova (24 years old, 105 WTA): 6-4, 2-6, 2-6

• Miriam Bulgaru (27 years old, 199 WTA) vs. Olga Danilovic (25 years old, 69 WTA, Serbia): 4-6, 3-6

• Veronika Erjavec (26 years old, 102 WTA) vs. Tamara Zidansek (28 years old, 151 WTA): 1-6, 4-6

• Ana Bogdan (33 years old, 517 WTA) vs. Maja Chwalinska (24 years old, 145 WTA, Poland): 3-6, 2-6

• Emma Răducanu (23 years old, 29 WTA) vs. Greet Minnen (28 years old, 123 WTA): 6-0, 6-4

• Sorana Cîrstea (35 years old, 41 WTA) vs. Kamilla Rakhimova (24 years old, 93 WTA, Uzbekistan): 6-4, 6-4

Double

• Qianhui Tang/Yue Yuan vs. Jaqueline Cristian/Gabriela Ruse: 4-6, 3-6

• Ulrikke Eikeri/Magali Kempen vs. Xinyu Wang/Saisai Zheng: 7-6 (5), 4-6, 8-10

• Dalila Jakupovic/Nika Radisic vs. Maria Kozyreva/Iryna Shymanovich: abandonment Kozyreva/Shymanovich

Schedule for Tuesday, February 3

Center field

• 11:00

  • Anastasia Potapova (24 years old, 58 WTA) vs. Lucia Bronzetti (27 years old, 110 WTA)

  • Xinyu Wang (24 years old, 33 WTA) vs. Kaitlin Quevedo (19 years old, 134 WTA)

• 3:30 p.m

• 18:00

  • Lucrezia Stefanini (27 years old, 140 WTA) vs. Jaqueline Cristian (27 years old, 35 WTA)

  • Elena Ruxandra Bertea/Briana Szabo vs. Eudice Chong/En Shuo Liang

Land 2

11:00

• Oleksandra Oliynykova (25 years old, 91 WTA) vs. Anna Bondar (28 years old, 64 WTA)

• Yue Yuan (27 years old, 130 WTA) vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo (29 years old, 478 WTA)

• Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah (20 years old, 116 WTA) vs. Daria Snigur (23 years old, 144 WTA)

• Maja Chwalinska/Kaja Juvan vs. Anna Bondar/Greet Minnen

• I-Hsuan Cho/Yi Tsen Cho vs. Kamilla Rakhimova/Sara Sorribes Tormo

All matches can be watched live on Pro Arena and Voyo.