Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea qualified on Monday for the round of 16 of the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), with total prize money of USD 922,573, after defeating Caroline Garcia 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-4.
Cirstea (33, WTA's 26th) reached her first victory in 2024 after two hours and 41 minutes. The Romanian was coming off six consecutive defeats, three of them this year.
Sorana Cirstea is now 3-2 in head-to-head matches with Garcia, against whom she has three consecutive wins, after 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 last year at Indian Wells in the round of 16 and 6-2, 6-3 also in 2023 in Miami in the second round.
The Romanian has secured a cheque for USD 13,590 and 60 WTA points and will face third seeded Greek player Maria Sakkari in the round of 16.
Cirstea is 2-1 in head-to-head matches with Sakkari (28, WTA's 9th), but the last match was won by the Greek player last year in the second round in Cincinnati, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.