Sonay Kartal Upsets Mirra Andreeva at China Open

Beijing, China — Sonay Kartal secured the biggest victory of her career by defeating world number five Mirra Andreeva in the China Open quarter-finals. The British number four triumphed 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 in a thrilling match that lasted two hours and 25 minutes.

This marks Kartal’s first win against a top-10 ranked player and her first time reaching the last eight in a WTA 1000 event. “She’s a top-10 player for a very good reason,” said Kartal, reflecting on the match. “She made me play my best tennis today, so credit to her, but I’m super happy with the level I managed out there.”

Kartal, 23, started strong, taking her only break point in the first set. Despite Andreeva’s powerful response in the second set, Kartal’s resilience showed in the decider. The world number 81 managed to edge out the Russian when Andreeva faltered on her serve at a crucial moment.

After narrowly missing a match point, Kartal seized her second chance as Andreeva hit a forehand wide. So far in the tournament, Kartal has only dropped one set across four rounds. In the semi-finals, she is set to face world number 27 Linda Noskova.

In another surprise at the tournament, American 16th seed Emma Navarro defeated top seed Iga Swiatek. Navarro’s victory, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0, came after she had struggled against Swiatek in their previous matches.