The 30th-seeded Sorana Cirstea (Romania) brought the surprise of the day, eliminating the 4th-seeded Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) from the US Open third round by 2-1 (6:3, 6:7, 6:4) in a match that lasted 2:49 hours.
The 33-year-old Romanian tennis player qualified for the fourth round of the US Open Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career.
After delaying 0-1 in the sets, Elena Rybakina managed to equalize after a contested second set, but in the third set the Romanian led by 4:1. The rivals exchanged two more breaks, and Sorana Cirstea reached the final victory with her first match point.
In the fourth round, she will face 15th-seeded Belinda Bencic (Switzerland), who eliminated Zhu Lin (China) by 2-1 (7:6, 2:6, 6:3) in 2:42 hours of play.
Former world’s No 1 Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) also reached the fourth round. She dealt with Jennifer Brady (USA) after a comeback with 2-1 (4:6, 6:3, 6:1) and will meet the 6th-seeded Cori Coco Gauff (USA), who eliminated Elise Mertens (Belgium) by 2-1 (3:6, 6:3, 6:0).
The Danish tennis player trailed by a set and 0:2 in the second set before turning it around to 4:3 and then equalizing. In the third set, the two-time US Open finalist was unchallenged, winning 5:0 and successfully closing out the match.
“I guess I always believe in myself. I gradually felt that I had a good rhythm. If I play my best tennis, then I’m hard to beat”, said Caroline Wozniacki.
