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Sorana Cirstea was not able to reach the semi-finals in Cincinnati as she did  last week in Los Angeles. Nevertheless it has been an OK tournament for Sorana, winning two matches and playing at a high level against the in-form number 4 of the world Elena Dementieva. The tournament featured no less than 14 top-15 players, making it probably the strongest populated tournament of the year. Allthough the attendance of all those top seeds, without a doubt the player with the most attention is former number one Kim Clijsters, who made her comeback after a sabattical of 27 months.

Australian Samantha Stosur used her big serve to overwhelm Romanian teenager Sorana Cirstea 6-3 6-2 in the semi-finals of the LA Championships on Saturday. In reaching her first final of the year, Stosur nailed seven aces and won 85 percent of her first serve points. Cirstea had suffered a right foot injury in her upset of Agnieszka Radwanska on Friday and never looked comfortable moving, committing 25 unforced errors.

Sorana Cirstea couldn't overcome her aching foot or the powerful and steady serving of Samantha Stosur Saturday afternoon, losing her L.A. Women's Open semifinal 6-3, 6-2. But Cirstea, a 19-year-old from Romania, was excited to speak about some time she spent training in Las Vegas with Gil Reyes, Andre Agassi's former trainer, and Darren Cahill, Agassi's one-time coach.

The Centre Court had an intriguing glimpse into the future today when Victoria Azarenka faced Sorana Cirstea for a place in the third round. These two 19-year-olds may have been new faces to many at Wimbledon but to each other they are very familiar, having jousted many times on their way through the junior rankings. But Azarenka’s six months’ seniority counts for a lot at this level and after a tight first set her extra experience showed as she won 7-6 (7-2), 6-3. 

Rising teenager star Sorana Cirstea cruised to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over her friend and rival Sania Mirza in a one-sided contest on Court 12. The Romanian used her powerful serve and booming ground strokes to outlast Mirza, who was once India’s hottest property.