Romanian tennis player Sorana Cirstea qualified for the semi-finals of the WTA 250 tournament in Cleveland (Ohio), which offers total prize money of USD 275,094, on Thursday, after defeating the competition's top seed, Russian Liudmila Samsonova, 6-4, 6-1, told Agerpres.
Cirstea (35 years old, WTA's 112th), who came through the qualifiers, prevailed after one hour and 22 minutes against the 2022 champion.
Samsonova (26 years old, WTA's 19th) had won her first encounter with Cirstea in 2023, in the round of 16 in Washington, 6-1, 6-3.
Cirstea secured a cheque for USD 11,970 and 116 WTA points.
In the semi-finals, the Romanian will face Russian Anastasia Zakharova (23 years old, WTA's 100th) for the first time, after the German player Eva Lys withdrew.
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