Sonay Kartal claimed the biggest win of her career by ranking after taking down World No 5 Mirra Andreeva in three sets to reach the quarter-finals of the China Open in Beijing.
Kartal defeated the 19-year-old Andreeva 7-5 2-6 7-5 to secure her first win over a top-10 opponent, a result that will see her replace Katie Boulter and become the British No 2 behind Emma Raducanu.
The 23-year-old Kartal is through to her first WTA 1000 quarter-final following runs to the last-16 of Wimbledon and Indian Wells this season and will play the 26th seed Linda Noskova for a place in the semi-finals.
Kartal had defeated Alicia Parks, Daria Kasatkina and Maya Joint to reach the last-16 in Beijing before stunning two-time French Open semi-finalist and reigning Indian Wells champion Andreeva.
After being denied on the first match point as Andreeva won a thrilling exchange, Kartal converted her second match point opportunity after two hours and 25 minutes as Andreeva blasted a forehand wide.
“I knew today was going to be far from easy,” Kartal said. “She’s a top-10 player for a very good reason and she made me play my best tennis today, so credit to her. I’m super happy with the level I managed to dig out in the end.”
Kartal said it was important that kept her composure after Andreeva levelled the match by winning a one-sided second set. Kartal saved a break point at 5-5 in the third set before breaking Andreeva to win the match.
“The way I carry myself on the court is one of my biggest assets,” she explained. “You could look down the other end of the court and you wouldn’t know if I was winning or losing.
“I tried to put that second set behind me because she played some great tennis. I tried to level it out in the third set and keep the scoreboard pressure as high as I could.”
