Sabalenka crashes out of Italian Open after third-round loss to Cirstea

ROME: World number one Aryna Sabalenka was knocked out of the Italian Open in the third round on Saturday after a 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat to Sorana Cirstea, becoming the second major name to make an early exit from the tournament.

Sabalenka, who had gone into the Rome event as the top-ranked player and a leading contender for the title, followed Novak Djokovic out of the competition after surrendering the match despite taking the opening set comfortably. The Belarusian appeared irritated by her display on centre court, where she was seen talking to herself and showing visible frustration during an unusually error-filled performance.

The 28-year-old had not been eliminated at the round-of-32 stage of a tournament since the Qatar Open in February last year. She looked on course for a straightforward win after moving quickly through the first set, but Cirstea turned the contest around to claim a notable victory.

The Romanian will now meet Linda Noskova in the next round after defeating the world number one for the first time in her career. Sabalenka also took a medical timeout for what appeared to be an issue with her left hip, raising questions over her condition ahead of Roland Garros later this month.

Gauff advances after long battle

French Open champion Coco Gauff remained in contention after coming through a match lasting more than two hours against Argentina’s Solana Sierra. Gauff won 5-7, 6-0, 6-4.

Her progress came despite a difficult clay-court season so far. She exited in the last 16 in Madrid after a disappointing quarter-final showing in Stuttgart.

Paolini title defence ends early

Defending champion Jasmine Paolini also went out of the tournament after losing to Elise Mertens 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3. The Italian home favourite was beaten after a performance marked by errors.

Paolini, 30, is now set to fall out of the top 10 in the women’s rankings after failing to reach the fourth round for the fourth tournament in a row. A key moment came when she was unable to convert three match points on return at 6-5 in the second set. She then dropped the first two points of the tie-break and was unable to recover.

“I didn’t make the most of my chances, I needed to keep a clearer head, keep my cool better in those moments,” Paolini told reporters. “I’m very disappointed to lose but there were moments in which I felt good on the court and I was competitive and positive.”

Auger-Aliassime and Djokovic also out

In the men’s draw, fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered a surprise second-round defeat to Argentina’s Mariano Navone. The Canadian lost 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5) to the world number 44.

Djokovic had already exited in Friday’s late action, falling 6-2, 2-6, 4-6 in the second round to qualifier Dino Prizmic.