Meet 25-YO WTA Star Jaqueline Cristian Who Stunned 3 Americans Back-to-Back at Charleston Open

The entire tennis community is taken aback by Jaqueline Cristian’s stellar run at the Charleston Open. Entering the clay court tournament as an unseeded participant, the Romanian tennis player has brushed aside three straight American WTA players of high caliber to secure a place in the quarterfinals round. Playing Charleston for the first time, Cristian has toppled two Top-20 opponents. Can she make it three in a row in the quarterfinals?

Cristian started her campaign at the WTA 500 event by overcoming American qualifier Sachia Vickery in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, in the opening round match. The former number-58 player was then given the challenging task of squaring off against the 8th-seeded American, Madison Keys. After dropping the second set of her round-of-32 match, Cristian pulled off a phenomenal comeback against 18th-ranked as she prevailed in a three-set thriller, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Aside from Keys, the Romanian player swept aside another top-seeded American player, Emma Navarro. The No. 20 also tasted defeat at the hands of Cristian, who won with a score of 6-3, 5-7, 6-1. While dropping only two sets during her campaign, the Romanian has now reached the quarterfinals, and she will lock horns with the 4th-seeded Daria Kasatkina.

As she has defeated three straight American WTA players, Cristian also opened up about how she has been geared up for her participation in the Charleston Open 2024.

Jaqueline Cristian entered Charleston Open 2024 to ‘show her best tennis’

In an interview with the Tennis Channel, the Romanian player was recently asked about her secret sauce to her success in this clay court event. Cristian answered by saying, “We came in Charleston one week ago actually, I had a few days to be ready before the tournament and I was like, ‘Woah,’ it’s really nice tournament. Like I understood why it was one of the best WTA 500 events that we have. So I was like I really want to enjoy this week here, and I hope that I can show my best tennis because I love playing on clay and I was really looking forward to it.”

As she was playing in front of a flurry of American fans rooting for her opponent, Cristian also revealed how she managed to perform well in such a boisterous atmosphere. She said, “In these types of moments, I’m just focusing on myself, like usually whoever I play, I’m not trying to look over the net. I’m just trying to do my thing and connect with my team and I was expecting the crowd to cheer for her, obviously, she is a hero here and also she is a great player.”

What do you think of the Romanian tennis star’s brilliant campaign at the Charleston Open? Let us know in the comments section.

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