Britain’s Kartal Causes Upset Before Sabalenka Loses Again

Britain’s Sonay Kartal upset ninth seed Belinda Bencic as she continued to build post-injury momentum at the Wuhan Open.
Kartal reached a career-high ranking of 44 last year but has slipped to 170th in the world after a six-month injury absence.
Having returned to action for Great Britain at last month’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals, the 24-year-old reached the third round at the Beijing Open last week before beating Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in her opening match in Wuhan.
The impressive 6-0 7-5 victory over Swiss world number 12 Bencic, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, was the second biggest win of Kartal’s career by ranking.
“I trusted that I would be able to get my level back, I just didn’t know how quickly,” Kartal said.
“I did a lot of things right today, but I still think there’s a long way to go.
“I can produce the level, but can I sustain it? I think that’s going to be the hardest challenge. I’m happy to be back, I’m feeling good.”
Kartal will face Italian 15th seed Jasmine Paolini for a quarter-final place.
Kartal suffered a stress fracture in her back in March, which meant she missed three of this year’s four Grand Slams – including Wimbledon.
The Briton, who reached the fourth round at her home Slam last year, was in good form before that enforced break.
She achieved victories over American top-20 seeds Emma Navarro and Madison Keys at Indian Wells, before she retired against Elena Rybakina in the third round with the back issue.
Kartal beat Chinese 31st seed Wang Xinyu as she reached the third round in Beijing, and has now won four of her five matches on her return to the WTA Tour.