Experienced Romanian player Sorana Cirstea takes on world No. 43 Bernarda Pera in the round of 32 of the 2023 Indian Wells on Monday.
The Croatian-born American tennis pro made it to the quarterfinals in Hobart and the third round in the Australian Open. However, in her previous three tournaments prior to Indian Wells, Pera couldn’t win a match in the main draw.
The 28-year-old her campaign in Indian Wells with a hard-fought win against Lucia Bronzetti in the round of 128. Pera smashed 10 aces in the match and had a win percentage of 75 on the first serve. In the round of 64, Pera came back from a set down and showed great determination to beat 12th seed Liudmila Samsonova 2-6, 6-7 (8-10), 6-7 (6-8). In this encounter, Pera had a win percentage of 71 on the first serve but also committed 8 double faults.
The 32-year-old had only won two matches in main draws this year, before coming to Indian Wells. The first win came in her first match of the season in Adelaide while the second win came in the Dubai Tennis Championships. In Indian Wells, Cirstea has added two more wins to her tally.
In the first round, Cirstea made light work of Kimberly Birrell. The one-sided match ended in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 as Cirstea advanced to the second round. Cirstea had a win percentage of 75 in the encounter. She took on 19th seed Madison Keys in the round of 64. The American star retired after dropping the first set 1-6.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as the two players have never crossed paths as yet.
Prediction: Sorana Cirstea to win in three sets.
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