Tennis: Sorana Cirstea qualifies for round of 16 at Strasbourg (WTA)

Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea qualified for the round of 16 of the WTA tournament in Strasbourg, with total prizes of 189,708 euros, on Monday, by defeating American Venus Williams 6-1, 2-6, 6-1.

Cirstea (31 years old, the 61st in the WTA) needed an hour and 45 minutes for her first victory in her career against the American (40 years old, the 104th in the WTA).

Venus won the first three direct matches with Sorana, in 2010, 6-4, 6-3, in the second round in Miami, in 2018, 6-3, 6-4, in the second round in Indian Wells, and also in 2018, 7-6 (4), 6-4, in Montreal, in the second round.

Sorana Cirstea secured a check for 3,653 euros and 30 WTA points, and in the next round round she will face the Chinese Shuai Zhang, the fifth seed, who defeated the Japanese Misaki Doi 7-5, 6-4.

The only confrontation between Cirstea and Zhang (32 years old, 41 WTA) took place in 2008, in Cuneo (Italy), Sorana winning in the first round with 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.