Kartal reaches WTA 1000 final in Wuhan after twice coming back from 1:4 — Interia Sport

In Wuhan, China, British tennis player Sonay Kartal defeated Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals of the WTA 1000 tournament and reached the final of an event at this level for the first time in her career. According to Interia Sport, Kartal won in two tie-breaks — 7:6 (11:9), 7:6 (7:5).

Ostapenko failed to hold her lead

In both sets, Ostapenko led 4:1 and had set points, but was unable to finish either set in her favor. In the first set, the Latvian served for the set twice, but at 30:0 in her game, she made two consecutive double faults.

In the first-set tie-break, Kartal had a set point at 6:5 and later won it 11:9. In the second set, the British player leveled the score after trailing 1:4. Ostapenko had three more set points, including two in the 12th game, but did not convert them. The second tie-break ended 7:5 in Kartal's favor.

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Opponent in the final

In the final, Kartal will play the winner of the Polish semifinal between Iga Swiatek and Maja Chwalinska. The British player returned to the court less than a month ago after a six-month break and is competing using a protected ranking.

Reaching the final guarantees Kartal a rise in the WTA rankings from 170th place to at least 50th. She had previously defeated Ostapenko at Wimbledon last year.