Daijiworld Media Network - Wuhan
Wuhan, Oct 16: Britain's Sonay Kartal stunned World No. 6 Elina Svitolina 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Wuhan Open at the Dongfeng Voyah Centre Court on Friday to reach her maiden WTA 1000 semifinal.
Kartal continued her impressive run at the tournament, which marks her third competition since returning from a back injury layoff. She became only the second British player to reach a WTA 1000 semifinal since the format was introduced in 2009, after Johanna Konta.
The Briton prevailed in a two-hour-and-three-minute battle against the Ukrainian. After comfortably taking the opening set, Kartal lost the second before regaining control in the decider to seal the victory.
Reflecting on her performance, Kartal said she was proud to have broken new ground.
“Despite winning the first set pretty comfortably, I knew what a great fighter she (Svitolina) is, so I knew that until the very last point was played, I was never safe,” she said.
“Super proud of the determination I managed to show in that match, and I just think it was solid composure from me throughout,” she added.
“I'm breaking new ground this week. I've never reached a semis of a WTA 1000, and as I've said, I absolutely love playing here and playing on these courts. The atmosphere was amazing today,” Kartal said.
Kartal, who was previously ranked No. 44, reached the third round of the China Open last week. She has continued her strong performances during the Asian swing in Wuhan, defeating World No. 48 Anhelina Kalinina in the first round before cruising past No. 12 Belinda Bencic in the round of 32.
She then overcame former French Open and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini in the pre-quarterfinals before defeating Svitolina, a four-time Grand Slam semifinalist, for the first time in their three meetings.
Kartal will now face Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals. Ostapenko booked her place in the last four with a 7-6 (6), 6-1 victory over Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals after trailing 2-5 in the opening set.