Tsvetana Pironkova fights back to extinguish Sorana Cirstea’s hopes – XXIV SNAI Open
Sorana Cirstea of Romania lit a flame of hope inside Romanian hearts of a second champion since Irina Spirlea in 1995 only to have it blown out by a Bulgarian whirlwind, Tsvetana Pironkova.
The 21-year-old Cirstea, lost in the second round for the second time, having already been ousted in the same round by the Spaniard Lourdes Lino Dominguez in 2007.
This was the first time in her career that she met the Bulgarian Pironkova and once she lost the grip on the match, the end became far worse.
Having reached the second spot without losing a single set, the young Romanian was the first to draw blood in the opening set. She took charge by winning the first set, only to let go an easy forehand at a crucial phase early in
the second set that directed a swing of momentum that she was never able to turn back and her opponent went on to win 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 and extending her winning run on these courts to six matches.
In today’s quarterfinal match she faces top-seeded Flavia Pennetta, a three-set winner over Mathilde Johansson of France.
When Cirstea would look back on this defeat it will be hard not to find out the point that changed the course of the match. With Pironkova making a large number of errors on her forehand, and Sorana going for her shots, the 21-year-old
Romanian had taken the first set and was 1-0 up on the Bulgarian’s serve when she created an excellent opportunity to save three break points.
Having adopted an attacking strategy that had paid off in the opening set, the 5 ft 9 1⁄2 inches Romanian suddenly started fumbling, while a visibly encouraged Pironkova cut out her own errors and began to
put more zip into her shots, clinching the second set with a breadstick win.
If the Bulgarian No.1 looked below-par in the opening stages of the match, she was back to her aggressive brand of tennis by the end. The Bulgarian proved to be the best defender of two, retrieving the ball in such a masterly way
that her opponent had already given up on, and taking the third set with the same score.
The Romanian supporters, nevertheless, are left with only one hope remaining in the draw and that is none other than Irina-Camelia Begu, who will be taking on second-seeded Roberta Vinci.
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