Sorana Kirstea (34 WTA) reached the second round of the “WTA 1000” tournament in Rome after an extremely difficult match against the American Katie Volynets (102 WTA).

Katie Volynets, defeat by Sorana Kirstea at WTA Rome

After two hours and 25 minutes of play, the Romanian won in three sets 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The first set, interrupted briefly by rain, belonged entirely to a player not ranked in the world’s top 100.

Sorana had a great start to the second set, took a 3-0 lead and, despite Volynets’ comeback, took the match into the third set.

In the decisive match, Katie Volynets again started well and led with a score of 2:0, but in the end the difference in the value of the two players told in favor of the Romanian.

In the second round, Sorana Kirstya will meet with Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (20 WTA).

By qualifying for the second round, Sorana secured a prize of €12,652 and 35 points in the WTA ranking.