Sonay Kartal has stormed into the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open, a WTA 1000 event, in just her third tournament back from injury. The British No 1 continued her incredible form by defeating fifth seed Elina Svitolina 6-2 2-6 6-4. She will take on former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday, from 10am, for a place in Sunday’s final.
Speaking on court, Kartal said: “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 added: “Super proud of the determination I managed to show in that match, and I just think it was solid composure from me throughout.”
Kartal also reflected on her achievement: “I’m breaking new ground this week. I’ve never reached a semis of a WTA 1000 and like I’ve said I absolutely love playing here and playing on these courts. The atmosphere was amazing today.”
Back from injury
Kartal, 24, reached the fourth round of Indian Wells in March before missing six months with a stress fracture in her back. She returned last month at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Previously ranked as high as No 44 in the world, she reached the third round in Beijing last week.
In Wuhan, she has swept past world No 48 Anhelina Kalinina, world No 12 Belinda Bencic, two-time Grand Slam singles finalist Jasmine Paolini and now four-time major semi-finalist Svitolina.
Currently 170th in the WTA rankings, Kartal will return to the top 100. She moves to No 87 following her latest win, and she has become the lowest-ranked player to reach the semi-finals in Wuhan. She missed three of this year’s four Grand Slams, including Wimbledon.
Ostapenko through to face Kartal
Ostapenko came from 5-2 down in the first set to defeat 11th seed Diana Shnaider 7-6 (8-6) 6-1. The Latvian hit 32 winners in the match, taking her total for the week to 138.
Pundit Naomi Broady previewed the clash: “I don’t think Ostapenko is going to enjoy Kartal’s game style with the amount of balls Sonay is going to put back into play.”
Broady added: “It will be interesting because when Svitolina upped her aggression in that match, Sonay wasn’t all that comfortable in set two, but, of course, it’s Ostapenko’s base game, isn’t it? But Sonay is going to be expecting that. She’s seeing the ball big, so it’s going to be all about keeping the ball out of the strike zone.”
Broady also pointed to a possible physical issue for Ostapenko. The Latvian has withdrawn from the doubles, possibly because of a forearm injury. A physio came out during her match against Jessica Pegula a couple of rounds ago, and her forearm has been taped since. Broady concluded: “She is not going to enjoy having someone like Kartal down the other end of the court. I think when the pressure is on Ostapenko’s back she doesn’t always perform her best.”
Elsewhere, American Ann Li, who upset top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the second round, could not cause another shock. Iga Swiatek triumphed 6-4 6-1. She will play Maja Chwalinska in an all-Polish derby after the French Open finalist beat a resurgent Maria Sakkari 6-0 3-6 7-5.
Jodar makes Shanghai history
Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar became the youngest semi-finalist in Shanghai Masters history after beating Casper Ruud. The 20-year-old was a set down but rallied to win 4-6 6-4 6-3. It was the fourth straight ATP Masters 1000 match in which Jodar had come back from losing the first set.
He will face Daniil Medvedev for a place in the final. The former US Open champion beat Tommy Paul 6-3 1-6 6-3.