Romanian tennis player Jaqueline Cristian qualified on Wednesday evening for the second round of the WTA 1,000 tournament in Madrid, with total prize money worth 7,705,780 euros, while Elena-Gabriela Ruse lost in the first round, write Agerpres.
Jaqueline Cristian (24, WTA’s 168th) won 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 against American Sloane Stephens after two hours and 24 minutes.
In the beginning, Stephens (30, WTA’s 48th), 2017 US Open champion and 2018 Roland Garros finalist (defeated in the final by Simona Halep), dominated the first set, in which the Romanian led once, 5-4, after winning three consecutive sets. In the second set, Jaqueline had another comeback, from 2-4 to 6-4, and in the decider she made the difference with a break in the last game (6-4).
Jaqueline Cristian has secured a cheque of 27,045 euros and 35 WTA points, and her next opponent will be Russian Anastasia Potapova (22 years old, WTA’s 25th, seeded 21st. Potapova won her only direct match against Jaqueline Cristian in 2017, when she won 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the first round at Wesley Chapel (Florida).
