Great Britain’s Sonay Kartal made WTA history as she defeated Jelena Ostapenko to reach the biggest final of her career at the Wuhan Open in China.
Kartal began the tournament ranked No 170 in the world having missed six months of the season due to a back injury, but has made up for lost time superbly in what is just her second tour-level tournament since March.
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The 24-year-old has become the lowest-ranked WTA 1000 finalist since the format was introduced in 2009, with victory over former French Open champion Ostapenko adding to impressive wins against world No 6 Elina Svitolina, former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and former Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini this week.
It took another gutsy display from Kartal, who trailed in both sets against the big-hitting Ostapenko but prevailed in a rollercoaster encounter to win two tiebreaks 7-6 (11-9), 7-6 (7-5), saving all six set points she faced across the two-hour battle.
Kartal, whose only career title came in the WTA 250 event in Monastir two years ago, will play either six-time grand slam champion Iga Swiatek or French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska in Sunday’s final, with the all-Polish semi-final taking place later on Saturday.
“Wow! That was probably one of the toughest of matches I’ve played,” Kartal said after converting her second match point. “I knew exactly how she was gonna play. At times, she’s unplayable, and sometimes you just have to ride that wave.
“Mentally, I think this is one of the best performances I’ve had in my career, so, I’m very, very proud of that one.”
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