Kartal stuns Andreeva to book spot in China Open quarters

BEIJING: Britain’s Sonay Kartal pulled the biggest victory of her career, beating the world number five Mirra Andreeva by 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 to qualify for the quarter finals in the China Open here at Lotus Court on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old British number four battled a highly rated Russian for two hours and 25 minutes. The result marks Kartal’s first win over a top-10 opponent and her maiden appearance in the last eight of a WTA 1000 tournament.

Reflecting on the triumph, Kartal cited that Andreeva is a great player and ranks in the top 10 players, and added that she played her best tennis today, and the credit goes to her.

"She's [Andreeva] a top-10 player for a very good reason," said Kartal.

"She made me play my best tennis today, so credit to her, but I'm super happy with the level I managed out there."

Kartal started dominating from the first set, seizing her lone break point, but the Russian gave her a tough time in the second set after taking advantage of Kartal's erratic first serve.

After wasting one match point, Kartal sealed a career-defining victory by converting her second chance when Andreeva missed a forehand.

Kartal, who is now ranked 81st in the world, has advanced to the quarterfinals after dropping just one set in four rounds.

To advance to the semi-finals, she will next take on world No. 27 Linda Noskova on Thursday.

It is pertinent to mention that Kartal is developing potential on the international scene in her game after this breakthrough performance.