Sonay Kartal's remarkable comeback continued on Saturday as she defeated Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets to reach the biggest final of her career at the Wuhan Open. Kartal trailed in both sets and saved six set points to secure a 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5) win over the former French Open champion in her second tour-level event since returning from injury.
Historic ranking milestone
The 24-year-old, who began the week ranked world No 170 due to her recent inactivity, becomes the lowest-ranked player to reach a WTA 1000 final since the format began in 2009. The victory guarantees Kartal a jump into the world's top 50 in next week's WTA rankings, overtaking Katie Boulter to become the British No 1.
“That was probably one of the toughest matches I’ve played in,” Kartal said. “At times [Ostapenko] is unplayable and sometimes you have to ride that wave. Mentally, this is one of the best performances I’ve had.”
Comeback from injury
Kartal clawed back a double break in the opening set and rode her luck on serve before forcing a marathon tie-break, which she edged 11-9 after saving two set points. She also had to dig deep in the second set, recovering another break and saving two more set points on serve at 6-5, forcing a second tie-break that she took to complete the win.
The result extends a remarkable series of wins against former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, two-time slam finalist Jasmine Paolini and world No 6 Elina Svitolina. Kartal made her breakthrough by reaching the fourth round of last year's Wimbledon, but her career stalled after sustaining a back injury that kept her out of action for six months. She showed positive signs by winning two matches on her return at the China Open this month.
Swiatek falls in other semi-final
In the other semi-final, a left-leg injury derailed Iga Swiatek as she went down fighting to Polish compatriot and childhood friend Maja Chwalinska 7-5, 6-1. Swiatek, a six-time grand slam winner, had to take a medical timeout while trailing 6-5 in the first set and continued the match with a bandaged left thigh, but found it difficult to put pressure on her leg and struggled to chase returns across the court.
