Sonay Kartal beats Mirra Andreeva at China Open in biggest win of career

Sonay Kartal produced the finest performance of her young career as the Briton defeated Mirra Andreeva, the world No 5, in a thrilling 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 match at the China Open.

Playing for a place in the quarter-finals of in Beijing, Kartal came up with some stunning shots on the big points as she lived up to her reputation as the ice-woman of the tour.

“The way I carry myself on the court is one of my biggest assets,” said Kartal, the Brighton girl who is beginning to step out of the shadow of her contemporary and childhood rival Emma Raducanu. “When you look down the other end at me you wouldn’t know whether I’m winning or losing.”

In a match that took two hours and 25 minutes, Kartal kept her tennis as controlled as her expression. There were plenty of lengthy groundstroke rallies, in which she maintained superb length and weight of shot from the baseline. But the revelation here was how well she dealt with Andreeva’s tricks and flourishes.

A player of great dexterity, 18-year-old Andreeva likes to mix play up with slices and net approaches. On this occasion, though, she found that Kartal usually had the answer, whether it be through a scorching pass or the beautiful half-volley drop-shot that she found as the match approached its climax. That one drew a broad smile from Jeremy Bates, the former British No 1 who is filling in at courtside in the absence of her regular coach Ben Reeves.

A couple of points later, Kartal wrong-footed Andreeva with a backhand up the line, and gave a little shy smile of her own. It was this sort of composure, in what was arguably the biggest match of her life, that had Sky Sports’ experienced commentator Jonathan Overend exclaiming “I think she’s the coolest athlete I’ve ever seen.”

Despite dropping the second set, Kartal had the benefit of serving first in the third, and she made the most of that advantage by scoring six successive holds. This was no easy task, as she faced several anxious 30-30 situations and one break point for Andreeva.

“She’s a top-10 player for a reason and she made me play my best tennis today,” said Kartal in her on-court interview. “I tried to put the second set behind me because she played some great tennis, I just tried to keep the scoreboard pressure as much as I could.”

When Andreeva saved a first match point with a silky low volley, one wondered for a moment if Kartal might suffer a similar fate to Raducanu, who was unable to convert three such opportunities at the same event on Sunday. But Kartal responded with a magnificent rally in which she worked Andreeva side to side before coming forward to lash a forehand winner into the corner. Her second match point was converted when Andreeva missed wide.

“It’s my first time in China,” said Kartal after her win, “so I’ve got incredible memories already. The atmosphere today was unbelievable. It was a privilege to be able to play in front of this crowd.”

This was a valuable victory, firstly in terms of the roughly £12,000 that it added to Kartal’s prize money, but more importantly with regard to the eight places it will lift her on the rankings ladder.

She had seen a significant dip in her ranking after the 250 points for last year’s WTA title victory in Monastir dropped off her record last month, but she has already gained 215 in Beijing, with power to add.

Kartal’s last three victories have all come against top-50 opponents, and now she will face Linda Noskova, the world No 27, for a place in the semi-finals. It is another wonderful opportunity for a player who is blossoming on the world stage.