If you'd have asked me then, I'd say I wouldn't be playing past 30: Miami Open semifinalist Sorana Cirstea
Sorana Cirstea, who defeated Aryna Sabalenka in Miami, admitted that while she would have loved to have been more successful at the age of 20, she is still proud of everything she has achieved in her career.
The soon-to-be 33-year-old Romanian outperformed this year's Australian Open champion Sabalenka 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 25 minutes in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Miami Open on Wednesday. This is the first time in her career that the 74th-ranked player defeated a Top-2 opponent.
This is also her first WTA 1000 semifinal since losing to Serena Williams in the title clash of the 2013 Canadian Open. The only unseeded quarterfinalist in Miami this year, Cirstea also reached the last eight at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells earlier this month, where she lost to Iga Swiatek.
The Romanian defeated 2022 WTA Finals winner Caroline Garcia in Indian Wells as well as Miami. In her press conference after the win over Sabalenka, she reflected on her career and stated that she was enjoying playing tennis now more than ever.
"I started very young, by 17 I was top 100, and by 18, I finished the year I think 30-something. So I definitely started very well," Sorana Cirstea said. "If you'd have asked me back then, I would say by 30, I wouldn't probably be playing anymore. But with the years, you start to mature, you start to enjoy the game a bit more. Right now, I'm really enjoying tennis, probably in a way that when I was 20, I didn't really enjoy it."
Cirstea added that despite not getting a lot of success, she was proud of everything — her mentality, work ethic, discipline, and belief.
"Of course, I wish I was 20 and have these results, but at the same time, I'm very proud of my mindset, my work ethic, my discipline, and also my belief, because I always believed that my game can do damage. Some players take longer, some players take less time, but I'm still proud of everything I have achieved throughout my career," she added.
Sorana Cirstea says she is more confident and less emotional in Miami than in Indian Wells
After eliminating Aryna Sabalenka at the 2023 Miami Open, Sorana Cirstea pointed out the changes that she felt while playing in Indian Wells and Miami. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek beat her in the quarterfinals in the desert before the Romanian reached the semifinals in Miami without dropping a set.
Cirstea declared that she has been more confident during the second leg of the Sunshine Double, which, in turn, has made her calmer.
"Coming here, I had the confidence, I had the work that I put in in the past couple of months, and this week was like, 'Okay, less emotional, back to work'," Sorana Cirstea said.
"With the confidence, things become a bit more automatic on the court. The more confident you are, the less thinking happens in your head. Definitely, I would say this week, I kind of calmed down a little bit," she added.
Cirstea is set to face either Petra Kvitova or Ekaterina Alexandrova for a spot in the summit clash this Saturday.