By SABC Sport
30th March 2023
Sabalenka was beaten 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 27 minutes by Romanian Cirstea, who is 72 places below the second seed in the world rankings.
Cirstea, who knocked out fifth seed Caroline Garcia in the second round, broke Sabalenka at the start of both sets.
Sabalenka broke back to level at 4-4 in the first, but lost her serve for a second time and was broken twice more in the second.
Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu has confirmed she has torn two ligaments in her left ankle after withdrawing from her fourth-round match against Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday night.
Andreescu left the court in a wheelchair and was sobbing in pain after falling during the third game of the second set. She was 2-0 up having lost the opening set on a tie-break.
The Canadian said on Twitter: "It's tough to say exactly how long it will take, but let's just say it could've been much worse!!
"I'm going to take it day-by-day and I'm optimistic that with the right work, rehab, and preparation I'll be back on court soon.
"Rehab process has already started and will continue to give updates."