Sorana Cirstea gave Elina Svitolina all she could handle in the third round of the Indian Wells Open. In an intense game, Elina had to fight hard and register a grueling 6-4. 4-6, 7-6(7-3) win. Romanian Sorana gave a tough time to Svitolina in terms of receiving points, edging her out 51-37 at that end. However, Svitolina’s service game remained strong and the Ukrainian clinched 76 service points compared to 57 by Sorana. Fourth-seeded Elina will face Jessica Pegula in the Round of 16.
Meanwhile, Aliaksandra Sasnovich continued her stellar run and felled another giant. The Belarusian beat Simona Halep 7-5, 6-4. Both teams remained level in terms of service points, pulling in 42 each. However, Sasnovich pulled through the courtesy of 35-26 receiving points edge. Aliaksandra beat this year’s US Open winner Emma Raducanu to advance.