By Tony Fairbairn
- Sonay Kartal [Q] def Rebecca Sramkova 6-3 7-5
- Sonay Kartal has described winning her maiden WTA title as ‘unbelievable’ after claiming victory in Monastir.
MONASTIR, TUNISIA – Sonay Kartal has targeted more success after claiming her first WTA title in Monastir, defeating Rebecca Sramkova in the final.
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An incredible achievement from Sonay Kartal as she started the week as a qualifier but ended the week as a WTA champion for the first time.
The Brit defeated Rebecca Sramkova in straight sets to win the title in Monastir and is now a top 100 player for the first time in her career.
Just like the rest of the tournament, the opening set was a dominant one as she took the match to the Slovakian.
Although there were two breaks each, Kartal was the more clinical player and proved that in the pressure moments as she broke to love in the eighth game before closing out the opening set in 48 minutes.
That opening set gave Kartal a ton of confidence as she continued to dictate play and raced away with a double break lead at 4-1, breaking to love on two occasions.
However the thought of the title started to take over Kartal’s game as the moment got to her with Sramkova battling to three games in a row.
The good thing about Kartal’s games that she was broken in was that Sramkova exerted a lot of energy while doing so as the pair continued their back and forth exchange as they shared breaks of serves.
A fourth consecutive break against the serve was produced but this time there was no letting go from Kartal as she comfortably held serve for the biggest win of her career.
After the match Kartal described winning the title as ‘unbelievable’ as she admitted she is playing some of the best tennis of her career.
“Right now it’s unbelievable,” Kartal was quoted by The Independent as saying.
“I tried so much to put the occasion and the score behind me and try to treat it just like any other match. It’s been such a good week, I’ve played some of my best tennis and it feels like in every match I’ve got better.”
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Kartal exceeds expectations, targets more success
It’s been an extraordinary last couple of months for Kartal having qualified for Wimbledon as well as reaching the third round.
The Brit has now backed that up by winning her maiden WTA title and is now a top 100 player rising to 96 in the world rankings.
After an sensational week in Tunisia, Kartal said that she has exceeded her own expectations and is targeting more success in the future.
“I started the year with the goal of being in the top 150 and now I’m past that,” Kartal was quoted by The Independent as saying.
“I’m trying to end the year in the top 100 and put myself in the best position for Australia.”
A top 100 finish at the end of the season for Kartal will put her in the Australian Open main draw automatically.
The first Grand Slam of next season starts on the 12th January with the entry list expected to be confirmed in December.
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