ISTANBUL, Turkey - Sorana Cirstea, one of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's brightest hopes who recently turned 20, had some unique preparation for the summer season. How did the Romanian rising star get ready?

"I just came to Istanbul two days ago from Las Vegas. I was there for two weeks training with the adidas team. I was doing fitness training with Gil Reyes, the trainer of Andre Agassi, and also with Darren Cahill. Andre came by one day and I played with Steffi Graf for two days in a row. It was amazing.

"I think Steffi could still be a Top 10 player. We didn't play points, just normal practice, but it was great for me. I started playing tennis because of Steffi. When I was four years old I told my parents 'I want to be like her one day' so to meet her and play with her is amazing for me. For me it was the fifth time in Las Vegas and every time after I go there I play my best tennis."

In her first round in Istanbul, Cirstea beat Akgul Amanmuradova, 76(4) 63.

"Today on the court I was thinking about what I had worked on and I think I'm on the right track. I was doing a lot of fitness to improve my movement."

Cirstea has one Tour title to her name, two years ago in Tashkent, as well as three doubles titles. Her best Grand Slam result so far is the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2009. She reached a career-high of No.23 last August.