Sonay Kartal saves six set points to stun Ostapenko and reach Wuhan final
Sonay Kartal is into the biggest final of her career after beating Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(9), 7-6(5) in the Wuhan Open semi-finals on 17 October. The Guardian
The British player needed two tiebreaks to do it. A tiebreak decides a set tied at 6-6, first to seven points with a two-point lead. Kartal held her nerve in both.
The win carries serious weight. Kartal started the week ranked world No. 170. She is now guaranteed a place in the world's top 50 next week and will overtake Katie Boulter to become British No. 1. The Guardian
She is also the lowest-ranked player to reach a WTA 1000 final since the format began in 2009. The WTA 1000s are the elite tour events just below the four Grand Slams.
Kartal fought off six set points against Ostapenko. A set point is a chance to close out the set. Six times, she was one point from losing a set. Six times, she found an answer.
That steel decided two very tight sets. Neither player dropped serve enough to settle it early. The rallies were fast and flat, Ostapenko swinging big, Kartal absorbing and redirecting. Then the tiebreaks turned on small margins and brave returns.
It continues a remarkable run in Wuhan. Before facing Ostapenko, Kartal beat Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini and world No. 6 Elina Svitolina. She beat Paolini, a former Wimbledon finalist, in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals, and had not dropped a set on her way to the last eight. BBC Her three-set win over Svitolina finished 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. Yahoo Sport
Context makes it even more striking. This was only Kartal's second tour-level tournament back after injury. She was sidelined for six months with a back injury and won two matches on her return at the China Open earlier in October. The Guardian Last year she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Ostapenko was no soft semi-final. The pair were tied 1-1 in previous meetings before Wuhan. WTA The Latvian had survived her own scares all week, saving three match points in a second-set tiebreak to beat second seed Jessica Pegula, then coming from 5-2 down and saving two set points to beat No. 11 seed Diana Shnaider 7-6(6), 6-1. WTA
What makes this stand out is the timing. Kartal said she was surprised by her own level during her return from long-term back injury at Wuhan. BBC She looked anything but surprised with set points against her.
Two tiebreaks. No panic. A final awaits.
