Britain's Sonay Kartal secured another huge win as she continued her impressive comeback from long-term injury at the Wuhan Open. The 24-year-old made a flying start against world No 12 and former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic in the second round in China, going on to claim a 6-0 7-5 victory.
Kartal missed six months of the season with a stress fracture in her back, returning last month at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen before reaching the third round in Beijing last week. Bencic is the highest-ranked player she has beaten since world No 5 Mirra Andreeva in the Chinese capital last year.
Kartal, who plays Jasmine Paolini next, said: "I trusted that I would be able to get my level back, I just didn't know how quickly. 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."
Bencic, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, responded at the start of the second set, taking a 3-1 lead. Kartal battled back and secured the crucial break at 5-5. "I think I saw snippets from my tennis six months ago," she added. Kartal is ranked 170 but is already guaranteed to leap around 40 spots. Elsewhere, Iga Swiatek eased into the third round with a 6-2 6-1 win over Magdalena Frech, while Karolina Muchova came back from 6-3 2-0 down to beat qualifier Caty Mc Nally.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing