Gauff beats Cirstea in Madrid despite stomach bug as Sinner cruises through

[p]Several players have been struggling with illness in the Spanish capital this week, including [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swiatek-iga/jNyZsXZe/"]Iga Swiatek[/a], who was forced to retire from her match against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/li-ann/rwvAgOWm/"]Ann Li[/a] on Saturday, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cilic-marin/nLoK5syL/"]Marin Cilic[/a], who had to withdraw ahead of his second-round meeting with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fonseca-joao/tv073LUc/"]Joao Fonseca[/a] on Friday. [/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/samsonova-liudmila/hIA4C9YT/"]Liudmila Samsonova[/a] also pulled out of the tournament on Sunday, citing illness ahead of her third-round match with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/noskova-linda/zHMiAkw6/"]Linda Noskova[/a].[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gauff-coco/f5BXmEH6/"]Gauff[/a] vomited in a bin on the court during her clash with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cirstea-sorana/fBPsm3Iq/"]Cirstea[/a], and asked for a medical timeout during the latter stages of the match before she [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/cirstea-s-fBPsm3Iq/gauff-c-f5BXmEH6/?mid=juJVl4sR"]completed the win in two hours and 21 minutes[/a].[/p][p][b]"Yeah, I don't know, honestly (how I got through that),"[/b] said Gauff, who will face Noskova in the last 16.[/p][p][b]"I was just trying to finish the match and one point turned into another. I think I got what everybody else is having here in Madrid, unfortunately. So, I'm just going to try to push through for tomorrow."[/b][/p][embed guid="45630dbc-4dde-4933-bdaf-c0f62468030f" url="https://x.com/i/status/2048367898972885074" social-type="twitter" /][p]A runner-up to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sabalenka-aryna/vyhksgUB/"]Aryna Sabalenka[/a] in the Spanish capital 12 months ago, Gauff has 3,300 points to defend on clay from Madrid through to her Roland Garros title defence in early June.[/p][p][b]"I pulled out in Indian Wells. I'm not someone who likes to pull out, so I didn't want to pull out again today. So, I'm glad that I was able to get through it," [/b]added the two-time Grand Slam champion.[/p][p][b]"I did start to feel better, not feeling like I had to throw up. They gave me some pills, so that definitely helped.[/b][/p][p][b]"But I was really tired... The first part was literally just trying to keep whatever I ate down. Once they gave me something to help with that, then I was just nauseous and tired. But I can deal with that."[/b][/p][p]Fellow American [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pegula-jessica/KdojxrAR/"]Jessica Pegula[/a] was unable to join Gauff in the next round as the fifth seed suffered a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/kostyuk-m-8CZqQdSa/pegula-j-KdojxrAR/?mid=rHApdPrH"]6-1, 6-4[/a] upset at the hands of Ukraine's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kostyuk-marta/8CZqQdSa/"]Marta Kostyuk[/a].[/p][p]Both players entered the contest riding six-match winning streaks, with Kostyuk clinching a title on red clay in Rouen last week and Pegula successfully defending her Charleston title on green clay earlier this month.[/p][h2]Sinner motors on[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Jannik Sinner[/a] continued his quest to become the first man in history to win five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row with a smooth [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/moeller-e-SU8MMreH/sinner-j-6HdC3z4H/?mid=425lfaJ6"]6-2, 6-3[/a] victory over Danish qualifier [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/moeller-elmer/SU8MMreH/"]Elmer Moller[/a] at the Madrid Open on Sunday.[/p][p]The world number one extended his winning streak to 19 matches, a run that began early March in Indian Wells, and he has also captured 24 consecutive victories at the Masters 1000 level, dating back to the Paris Masters last October.[/p][p][b]Searching for a maiden title at this level on clay, Sinner advanced to the round of 16 at the Caja Magica with a 77-minute performance against the 169th-ranked Moller.[/b][/p][image alt="Match stats" id="1b21988d-c03c-4178-a7ba-dc7670d64eab" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="f1926ef5-0404-44be-b78c-e272521ba23b" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p]The Italian broke Moller four times and dropped serve just once late in the opening set to book a last-16 meeting with Cameron Norrie or Thiago Agustin Tirante.[/p][p][b]"I tried to stay calm, trying to serve well in the important moments,"[/b] Sinner told Tennis TV on court after the win.[/p][p][b]"I think today that was the key. And not a lot of rhythm, so I tried to stay quite compact and let's see what's coming in the next round."[/b][/p]