After Sorana took the first set fairly easily 6-4, the match got tighter and Stephanie took an important early lead in the second. Sorana was able to equalise again but eventually lost the second set 5-7. In the decissive, each player broke twice to 4-4, Sorana broke again and finally served for the set and match to win 6-4.

Although she hit 10 aces during this match, Sorana had a poor first serve percentage (50%)…let’s hope she’ll bring it together for the next match against her friend and doubles partner, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark. So far this year, Sorana had good success against Caroline, both in the French Open and LA. Let’s hope that history will repeat in New York .

Good Luck Sori!

Next week, Sorana will play in another Premier event, this time in Cincinati at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open. She is scheduled to play Meghann Schaughnessy in the first round.

Next opponent for Sorana in the LA semifinals is her French Opean aquaintance.

Sorana will now meet Agnieszka Radwanska in tomorrow’s  quarter finals. Last week in Stanford, Sorana lost to Agnieszka in the first round 6-0 6-1. Agnieszka also leads in their head to head series 2-1.

Good luck Sorana!

Sorana will play Sabine Lisicki of Germany in the third round. Sorana and Sabine met once before, in the final of the Tashkent WTA Open, sorana winning the matchand her first WTA title.

General: Found herself splashed all over the back pages for two reasons during her run to the French Open quarter-finals in May. The first was that her progress came at the expense of leading players Alize Cornet, Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic; the second, her stunning looks, which made her the ideal poster girl in the absence of injured Maria Sharapova.

Cirstea was a promising junior and has made good progress at the top level – and crucially she already has a first career title under her belt. But she’s struggled since her impressive showing in Paris, springing doubts over whether she can make the leap from top 30 to top 10.

Strengths: Tall, elegant and willowy, Cirstea has a neat, controlled style that minimises mistakes. She might not hit for the corners, but then again the unforced error count is always low. Doesn’t appear to be fast around the court, but actually is deceptively quick covering the ground with her long strides and good reading of the game.

As you’d expect of a good doubles player she’s also a very solid volleyer. But she also has solid groundstrokes. Forehand and backhands are delivered with plenty of zip and punch, whipping through the ball quickly on both sides. Has a great line in disguising her shots: on both sides, she holds the racquet well back until the last minute, making it tough for opponent’s to predict which side she’s going to play to.

Weaknesses: Cirstea’s game is built more around being solid than spectacular – ideal for getting to the later stages of most tournaments, but you wonder if she has the tools to pick up titles on a regular basis. Seems lacking a little when it comes to delivering the final blow: in her third-round defeat to Victoria Azarenka at Wimbledon, for example, she dominated the first set but was unable find the crucial points to wrap things up, and lost in a tie-break. Despite her competence at the net, she often seems to lack the confidence to charge in and take control of the point.

Prospects: Cirstea could be huge. What her game lacks appears to stem from her youth rather than any inherent limitations. Her slightly cautious, tentative shotmaking is both a problem in itself and the root cause of her inability to take the initiative.

And it’s a problem that stems from a lack of physical strength. Despite her height and build, there’s something physically delicate about Cirstea, as if she’s yet to grow in to her physique and get the most from herself. It’s possible that it’ll never happen – but if it does, then she could be major a force on the women’s circuit for many years to come.

General: Cirstea is the classic example of what Jane Austen would have referred to as an ‘accomplished’ woman. As well as being beautiful, rich and talented, she speaks English, Spanish and French, in addition to her native Romanian. She enjoys reading and watching films, is a crossword fanatic and keeps parrots. Loves playing all ball sports, and hitting the shops of New York and London. Describes herself as ambitious, stubborn and happy, and names Steffi Graf as the person she most admires.

Source: Toby Keel – Eurosport UK

Sorana is now set to for a second round face-off with her friend Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.  They each won one of the two previous direct matches. Their last direct match between the two was at this year’s French Open when Sorana won 7-6, 7-5. Caroline had a good season so far this year, winning  at Eastbourne and Ponte Vedra Beach, playing 3 other finals and reaching the quarters 5 times.

All in all it looks like a tough second round for Sorana.

Now Sorana has to concentrate on tomorrow’s single match against the 16 year old Michelle Lachere De Brito of Portugal. The two met once before last year in Tashkent when Sorana won in straight sets.

Good luck Sori!