Sorana Cirstea scores fifth Top 10 win in the last year with victory over Sakkari in Abu Dhabi

Sorana Cirstea has beaten a lot of top players in her career, and she kept that pattern going on Wednesday, taking out No. 9-ranked Maria Sakkari in the second round of Abu Dhabi, 6-2, 6-1.

Not only was it the milestone 20th Top 10 win of Cirstea's career, but she's now had five Top 10 wins in the last year alone, actually putting together a winning record of 5-4 against the elite over the last 12 months, a run that started at Indian Wells last March.

CIRSTEA VS TOP 10 PLAYERS IN LAST 12 MONTHS: 5-4
d. No. 5 Garcia in 2023 Indian Wells 4th Rd, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
l. to No. 1 Swiatek in 2023 Indian Wells QFs, 6-2, 6-3
d. No. 4 Garcia in 2023 Miami 2nd Rd, 6-2, 6-3
d. No. 2 Sabalenka in 2023 Miami QFs, 6-4, 6-4
l. to No. 2 Sabalenka in 2023 Madrid 2nd Rd, 6-4, 6-3
l. to No. 8 Sakkari in 2023 Cincinnati 2nd Rd, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
d. No. 4 Rybakina in 2023 US Open 3rd Rd, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-4
l. to No. 10 Muchova in 2023 US Open QFs, 6-0, 6-3
d. No. 9 Sakkari in 2024 Abu Dhabi 2nd Rd, 6-2, 6-1

To add to the symmetry, her win over Sakkari wasn’t just her 20th Top 10 win, it was also the 50th Top 20 win of her career.

Cirstea’s career-high ranking is No. 21. She’s currently No. 26.

Cirstea was on her game from start to finish against Sakkari on Wednesday, ripping almost twice as many winners as unforced errors—16 to 9—and breaking serve five times. She was never broken herself, either, fighting off all six of the world No. 9's break points.

The Romanian actually went into the match against the Greek with a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head, but had lost their last meeting—a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat in Cincinnati last summer.

But she got back on the winning track this time.

“Maria, she’s a great player, she’s a fighter, so you know coming in that you have to really go for every point,” the Romanian said in her on-court interview. “You have to take your opportunities, and I was able to do that today—I was able to play aggressive.

“I have so much respect for her and I think it’s a great win for me.”

Awaiting Cirstea in the quarterfinals on Friday will be No. 14-ranked Daria Kasatkina. The two are tied 1-1 in their head-to-head.