Sonay Kartal beats Bencic to advance in Wuhan
Sonay Kartal's victory over Belinda Bencic puts her in the Wuhan third round and adds another strong result to her return from a back injury.
Sonay Kartal defeated ninth seed Belinda Bencic to reach the Wuhan Open third round. The win adds to an encouraging return after a back injury kept her out for six months.
Kartal earns a major win
Sonay Kartal moved into the Wuhan Open third round with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Belinda Bencic on Wednesday. By her opponent's ranking, it was the second biggest win of the Briton's career, adding another strong result to her return from injury. The comeback is gathering pace. Kartal followed her opening victory over Anhelina Kalinina by eliminating the tournament's ninth seed.
Bencic is ranked No. 12 and reached the Wimbledon semifinals last year, giving this result significance beyond a place in the next round. Her recent record has been less convincing. The Swiss player has won four of her last 10 completed matches, while Kartal has won four of five since returning to the WTA Tour.
A return ahead of expectations
A stress fracture in Kartal's back interrupted her season in March and left her unable to compete for six months, including most of the Grand Slam schedule. She missed three of this year's four majors. Wimbledon was among them. That absence followed a run to the fourth round at her home major last year.
Kartal resumed competition last month, representing Britain in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, then reached the third round in Beijing before doing the same in Wuhan. She had reached a career high of 44 last year but has since fallen to 170. The results are arriving quickly. “I trusted that I would be able to get my level back, I just didn't know how quickly,” Kartal said.
Earlier results gave her reason to believe
Before the injury break, Kartal had beaten Emma Navarro and Madison Keys at Indian Wells, where both Americans were seeded inside the top 20. That run ended with a retirement against Elena Rybakina in the third round because of the back problem that would keep her off tour. The promise was already there. Wuhan provides another result against a highly ranked opponent after the enforced interruption.
In Beijing last week, Kartal beat 31st seed Wang Xinyu on her way to the third round, giving her a useful result before arriving in Wuhan. Bencic represents another step forward. Still, Kartal distinguished between reaching this level in an individual match and maintaining it, identifying consistency as the harder task as her return continues.
A quarterfinal place comes next
Kartal will face either Jasmine Paolini or Czech player Nikola Bartunkova for a place in the quarterfinals, with the Italian seeded 15th in Wuhan. Paolini is currently ranked No. 33. She has won six of her last ten completed matches. The next test awaits. For Kartal, it offers a chance to move beyond the third round she reached in Beijing last week.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Iga Swiatek defeated fellow Pole Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-1 to advance in Wuhan, continuing her own progress through the tournament. It was Swiatek's 40th victory of the season. Kartal's immediate focus is different. After showing she can again beat a leading player, her next match will test whether she can carry that level into another round.
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