Tennis insider Jose Morgado didn’t hesitate to take a blunt dig at Anna Kalinskaya as her disappointing hard-court season continues. Despite taking an important lead in the match by winning the first set, Kalinskaya allowed Sorana Cirstea to get back into the match and eventually got knocked out of the third round at the Cincinnati Masters 6-7, 6-1, 5-0.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
But the encounter ended with controversy as the Russian took a sudden retirement following a medical timeout. This prompted Morgado to make a sly comment on Kalinskaya.
“Kalinskaya didn’t want her good friend Cirstea to bagel her,” he wrote on X. “Retired down 0-5 down in the 3rd.”
Morgado is one of the most prominent tennis insiders on social media. Renowned for his wide coverage of tournaments, especially on X. However, two years back his reputation took a hit when he made fun of Andrey Rublev on his mental health revelation and since then fans have mixed opinions about him.
While it is certainly not a comment Kalinskaya was expected to receive, having lost 11 of the last 12 games, it is unlikely that Kalinskaya would have avoided being bagelled in the decider. With only one or two games most likely left to play, it wasn’t a surprise that Morgado took a dig at Kalinskaya for the timing of her retirement.
Cirstea completely turned the tables around after losing the first-set tiebreaker 7-4. She broke Kalinskaya’s serve on seven occasions and was totally dominant in the last two sets. That being said, Kalinskaya didn’t look to be in great shape during the decider.
She received treatment on her lower back and hip area after calling for a medical timeout. But it seems that the treatment didn’t improve her condition, as she decided not to continue. This was her second retirement of the season. Her previous one came against Elina Svitolina at the Berlin Open while trailing 6-1, 4-1.
Kalinskaya will be hoping that the physical issue isn’t anything serious and doesn’t affect her participation in the US Open, which begins on August 30. The defeat to Cirstea continues the pattern of early exits for the Russian. She has had a pretty average season so far and has a win-loss record of 23-16. She is yet to win a singles title, and her best result came at the French Open, where she reached the quarterfinals.
Kalinskaya’s hard-court season hasn’t begun on a positive note either. She has won just five matches in three tournaments. Her results include a quarterfinal exit at the Citi Open and Round of 32 exits in both Toronto and Cincinnati. She had begun the tournament on a positive note and had defeated Caty McNally 6-3, 6-4 in the second round. But she wasn’t able to carry over that momentum into her next match.
The 27-year-old’s performances just haven’t been up to the mark despite not suffering from any serious injuries so far. Ranked No. 21 currently, Kalinskaya would need to bring a major improvement to her form if she wants to make a run to the top 10.
Looking at her current form, there aren’t any big expectations from her heading into the US Open. Not to mention that she has an underwhelming win-loss record of 8-7 in the Grand Slam. It remains to be seen if Kalinskaya will defy the odds and turn her fortunes around at Flushing Meadows.