Britain's Sonay Kartal reached her first WTA 1000 final on Saturday after beating Jelena Ostapenko in Wuhan. The 24-year-old won 7-6, 7-6, taking the tie-breaks, which decide level sets, 11-9 and 7-5. She is only the second British woman to reach a final at this level, after Johanna Konta.
Kartal had to recover from behind in both sets. She saved two points that could have given Ostapenko the opening set, then saved another two in the second. Although Ostapenko hit 50 winning shots, she could not win either set. Kartal described the match as one of her toughest and said she was proud of her mental strength.
Currently ranked 170th in the world, Kartal will enter the top 50 and become Britain's highest-ranked woman. Wuhan is only her third tournament since returning from a back injury that kept her out for six months. She will face Maja Chwalinska in Sunday's final after the Polish player defeated Iga Swiatek. Kartal has also beaten Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini and Elina Svitolina during her run.
