Sorana Kirstya has won 9 of her last 10 matches, and in the semi-finals of the Miami Open (WTA 1000) she will meet Petra Kvitova. In the best shape of her entire career, the athlete from Tirgovishte was described by the people who helped her throughout her career: Liliana Kirstja (her mother), Sorin Erlich (the first coach) and Adrian Krusiat (the one who prepared the period from four years).

Liliana Kirstya, Sorana’s mother: “She has been working constantly since childhood”

“We are all happy, the whole family. First of all about her, we know that she has put in a lot of work, such a long career, injuries. And apart from that final in Toronto in 2013, we didn’t have anything big. There were 250 tournaments he won, they weren’t very big. He worked non-stop and wanted this moment.

I think the planets aligned with Thomas. I have a saying that I told Sorana when she was little and working: the sun will rise on your street too. It’s spring… and it’s here!

My stomach dropped this year when the commentator said it was her 16th appearance at the Australian Open. You understand that it takes so many years to do this way to get there. It is very difficult. And she wanted at the end of her career to still be old enough to act, to give herself to everything she could. He’s in a phase now where he’s healthy, he’s recovered from his shoulder injury last year, he’s been working in the offseason and, I repeat myself, but I have to do this, the one who aligned his planets was Thomas Johansson, who is an extraordinary person.

At the moment, Sorana is much more mature, more settled and very physically fit compared to her youth. And he has this very big desire.

Her father and I continue to live with great emotions, each on our television. Everyone has their own TV, with their own emotions. We have a feeling that this way is better, thus, by connecting to two TVs, we transmit much more positive energy. I made this decision a long time ago because her performance was also from agony to ecstasy.

It’s an individual sport, it’s not like football, make a gallery. He is my child and I want the best for him, but at this point I have different emotions than my husband. So, everyone to their TV and in the end we enjoy together. We are happy!” – Liliana Kirstyain an interview with “ProSport”.

>> The decision of Sorana Kirstya and Aryna Sabalenko after the meeting at the WTA in Miami

Sorin Erlik, Sorana Kirstya’s first coach: “He cried a lot when he lost”

“From the very beginning, she seemed to me a girl with many qualities. She was attentive and easy to work with. I said after the first months that it will grow. She was very hardworking, did not give up. She was not yet 7 years old, and during training in the hall I without fail exchanged a thousand balls with her. This is something special.

When Sorana was 10-11 years old, my mother brought her to me, I took my boy Laurentiu, who was 4 years older, put him in the car and went to the gym from 6 in the morning. They were both sleepy, the first 10-15 minutes were harder, but they were the best workouts because they were clear. He had great ambitions, he cried bitterly when he lost. When I was not yet 7 years old, I also practiced twice a day. The last one is from 10 pm to midnight, because then I could find a place in the hall.

At the age of 17, he reached the final in Budapest and was 325th in the world ranking. Then he won the tournament in Azerbaijan, and at 19 he reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. The results were, unfortunately, fluctuating. But now I see that everything has changed, it is in a sensational form. He has matured.

But he also faced Swedish coach Tomas Johansson, a former Grand Slam champion. And I think it gave her confidence and really suits her character. Sorana sees her game, she stops complaining, she is focused.

The way he plays, anything is possible. All opponents are valuable, but the way I see her now, with her best tennis, it’s definitely possible. He is on a very good path. I think he will play for a few more years. As if only now he is showing his true value.

Why not?! (not if he can win a Grand Slam). He has qualities, he has weapons. If she is healthy and moves forward with this coach, she can do anything. He simply proved that he is not inferior to the second racket of the world. In tennis, everything depends on the ball. It’s the difference between agony and ecstasy. I wish him to continue going like this and rise as high as possible” – Sorin Erlikfor Sports newspaper.

>> WTA reveals lesser-known facts about Sorana Kirstea after qualifying for Miami Open semifinals

Adrian Crucia, former coach of Sorana Kirstya: “You can fight on equal footing with any player”

“An exciting victory (not with Aryna Sabalenko). She overcame a rough patch or two against an opponent in very good form to win the Australian Open in January. Such matches are often decided psychologically, and Sorana coped with this task. On a good day, Sorana can play one-on-one with absolutely any player on the track. For me, the route from Miami is not a surprise.

I’m at a different stage in my life, I don’t want to go back to the WTA, but I’m dedicating myself to the kids and the juniors. But I am very happy for Sorana, who remained a dear person for me. We’ve had a lot of great times together and I’m rooting for him wherever he competes.

He is looking to go big at a Grand Slam and these good weeks of late are likely to give him the confidence he needs. Miami still had a sort of mini Grand Slam tour. Sorana has wins against top 10 players, and if she keeps up her current pace, she could have success this year.

Sorana has potential on any surface, but on hard in the States it seems as if she has a small percentage in addition to chances. Wimbledon is liked for its speed and style of play, but the grass offers an unpredictable season because, apart from the English and Australians, the others do not have many opportunities to prepare and play on this surface. Several high-stakes tournaments are compressed into two or three weeks, and in theory it’s harder to prepare for.

Sorana directly touched on the topic related to the Federation Cup, so I don’t understand why commenting on her possible return. I’m no longer on staff to know what’s going on, but the backlog is huge. When you’re aiming for a big Grand Slam result, there’s not much room on the calendar for one more major goal. Including big names, starting with Djokovic and Nadal, took a step back in the Davis Cup” – Hadrian the Crusaderfor ProSport.

>> Sorana Kirstea, a huge win with the second player in the world and age on the report

Sorana Kirstea, excellent performance at the Miami Open

Round I: 7-6(6), 6-2 against Fernanda Contreras Gomez (179 WTA)

II round: 6-2, 6-3 against Caroline Garcia (4 WTA)

Round III: 7-5, 6-1 against Karolina Muchova (55 WTA)

Best result: 7-6(3), 6-4 against Marketa Vondrousova (103 WTA).

Quarters: 6-4, 6-4 against Aryna Sabalenko (2 WTA)

Semifinal: Petra Kvitova (12 WTA) / Friday, from 22:00, LiveBLOG on HotNews.ro.

Know:

• The winner of the match between Sorana Kirstea (74 WTA) and Petra Kvitova (12 WTA) will fight for the trophy with Olena Rybakina (7 WTA).

• The presence in the semifinals of the tournament in Miami is the second best result of Sorana Kirstea’s career, after reaching the final of the Rogers Cup in 2013 (then she was defeated by Serena Williams).

• The qualification to the semifinals is the best result recorded in the career of Sorana Kirstea at the Miami Open. Also, for the first time, she defeated an athlete from the Top-2 WTA (Aryna Sabalenko).

• By advancing to the semifinals of the competition in Florida, Sorana secured a prize of $352,635 and 390 points in the WTA singles ranking.

• A very good move from the tournament in Florida will help Sorana to make an important jump in the world singles hierarchy, in WTA Live our athlete takes 41st place – a jump of 33 positions.

• Sorana Kirstea is the first player outside the WTA Top 50 to win at least 9 main draw matches at the Sunshine Double (4 in Indian Wells and 5 in Miami) in the same year.

The Miami Open takes place from March 21 to April 2 on hard, is part of the “WTA 1000” category and has a total prize pool of $8,800,000. There are 96 players in the main draw, and the reigning champion is Iga Svyatek.