Sonay Kartal beats Svitolina to reach Wuhan semi-finals

Britain’s Sonay Kartal reached her first WTA 1000 semi-final by beating fifth seed Elina Svitolina in three sets at the Wuhan Open.

Kartal, 24, won 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to extend her comeback after missing more than six months with a stress fracture in her back. It was her sixth victory in eight matches since returning from injury. [1]

She had also beaten 15th seed Jasmine Paolini and ninth seed Belinda Bencic on her way to the quarter-finals. In the deciding set against Svitolina, the players stayed level until Kartal broke serve at 5-4 to clinch the match. [1]

Svitolina took a medical timeout for treatment on her right arm after losing the first set, then won the second 6-2. Kartal said afterwards that she knew Svitolina, the world number six, was “a great fighter” and that she “was never safe” in the match. [1]

Kartal will face 2017 French Open champion Jeļena Ostapenko in Saturday’s semi-final. Ostapenko beat Diana Shnaider 7-6 (8-6), 6-1. [1]