WIMBLEDON — British qualifier Sonay Kartal has pulled off a sensational upset on the Wimbledon grass, knocking out Romanian 29th seed Sorana Cirstea in the first round, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.
In her third appearance at Wimbledon, and having never gone beyond the first round, Kartal looked once again overawed by the experience in the first set, surrendering somewhat meekly as Cirstea took control of the match.
Despite being seeded No 29, Cirstea was on a slump of five losses in a row going into this first round, and that form came home to roost in the second and third sets. By contrast, Kartal gained a huge amount of confidence by coming through qualifying, including beating Erika Andreeva — who herself progressed to the second round today, after coming in as a lucky loser for world No 3 Aryna Sabalenka — 6-3, 6-1 at Roehampton.
After taking the second set 6-2, Kartal remarkably found another gear as Cirstea faded, taking the final set 6-0 with a flashing forehand down the line to set up a clash with France’s Clara Burel in the second round.
More to follow.
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