SONAY KARTAL BEATS JELENA OSTAPENKO TO REACH WUHAN FINAL

Sonay Kartal beat Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-5) on Saturday to reach the Wuhan Open final, the biggest of her career. Kartal trailed 4-1 in both sets and saved three set points in each before winning the semi-final. “That was probably one of the toughest matches I’ve ever played,” Kartal said. She will face Maja Chwalinska for the title on Sunday.

Kartal has played only three events since returning from a six-month absence caused by a back injury. She represented Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup little more than three weeks ago, then won matches at the Beijing Open. In Wuhan, she beat Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini and Elina Svitolina before facing Ostapenko. Rankings placed Kartal at world number 170 and Ostapenko at number 34 before their semi-final.

Chwalinska reached the final with a 7-5 6-1 win over Iga Swiatek, who took a medical timeout late in the second set. “Obviously Iga wasn’t 100 per cent today, so I wish her all the best,” Chwalinska said. Kartal’s place in the final makes her the lowest-ranked player to reach a WTA 1,000 final since the format began in 1990. The next rankings, due on Monday, are expected to put Kartal back in the world’s top 50 and make her Britain’s number one player.