Sorana Kirstya easily qualified for the third round of the “WTA 1000” tournament in Miami. In a match that started on Friday and was interrupted by rain, the Romanian outlasted Sloane Stephens with a score of 6-2, 6-1.

Sorana KirsteaPhoto: Kamran Jebreili/AP/Profimedia

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Sorana Kirstea, match with Daria Kasatkina in the third round of the WTA in Miami

Suspended on Friday after just 22 minutes, 5-2 in favor of Sorana Kirstea in the first set, the match against American Sloane Stephens resumed on Saturday with a long delay.

Seeded 19 in Miami, the Romanian had two minutes to win the first set.

The second set was left to Sorana, who controlled the game in front of the ex-Grand Slam winner, led 5-0 after two breaks and, despite the relaxation at the end, quickly closed the scores.

In total, the game lasted only 52 minutes.

In the third round, Sorana Kirstya will meet the 10th favorite of the competition, Russian Daria Kasatkina, who with a score of 6-0 beat the American Claire Liu, who had to leave, 1-0.

What to know about the match between Sorana Kirstea and Sloane Stevens

  • Sorana and Sloan have met four times before, each winning twice: the Romanian in Dubai 2013 (5-7, 6-3, 6-2) and Dosi 2024 (6-4, 6-2), and the American at Roland Garros 2022 (3-6, 6-2, 6-0) and Indian Wells 2024 (6-0, 7-5).
  • For reaching the third round, Sorana will receive $59,100 and 65 points in the WTA singles ranking.
  • Last year’s Miami semi-finalist Sorana Kirstea has 390 points to defend (she is 27th in the WTA Live rankings, down three places).
  • Romania had three other players in the main draw in Miami, but they all lost in the first round: Simona Halep (against Paula Badosa), Ana Bohdan (against Kateryna Siniakova) and Jacqueline Christian (against Diane Parry).

The WTA 1000 category tournament will be held in Miami from March 19 to 31. Played on hard court, the main draw features 128 players and a total prize pool of $8,995,555. The champion of the overall title is Petra Kvitova (she is pregnant and will not participate in this year’s edition).