Sonay Kartar wins first WTA Tour title at Jasmine Open in Tunisia

Britain’s Sonay Kartar won her first WTA Tour title after winning the Jasmine Open in Tunisia in a fascinating battle with Rebecca Slamkova.

Kartal, a former junior rival of Emma Raducanu, won her way through qualifying in Monastir and played impressively all week before beating Slamkova in straight sets in Sunday’s final to claim her first title.

The 22-year-old from Brighton, who lost to American superstar Coco Gauff in the third round of Wimbledon earlier this year, won a hard-fought 6-3, 7-5 victory to equal Katie Boulter as the British WTA Tour winner this season.

The win over the Slovakian, in her first WTA Tour final, saw Kartal achieve a new career-high ranking and enter the top 100 in the women’s singles rankings for the first time.

Kartál was aggressive throughout the first set, breaking her opponent three times and hitting three aces. Perhaps benefiting from the early end of the semi-final after Germany’s Eva Liss withdrew due to illness after less than 30 minutes, Kartál played aggressive tennis, attacking her opponent’s serve and taking the first set in 47 minutes.

Kartalu used a strong finish in the first set and a strong start to the second to lead 4-1 before Slamkova broke back to make things difficult for the British number four woman.

The grueling eighth game of the second set lasted more than 10 minutes and tested the mettle of both players, with Kartal saving multiple break points and missing chances to win the game herself, but Slamkova capitalised on her fourth break chance to tie the set at 4-4.

Two more breaks followed and with both players struggling to hold serve, Kartal took advantage of a tired Slamkova’s slack serve to break for the fourth time in the set and win the match on her second serve.

Crucially, she won the opening point on serve and hit a stunning winner to secure the championship point – Kartal needed just one winner to secure the victory after a marathon second set that lasted an hour and 10 minutes.

Kartal: I really wanted revenge.

Speaking after the match, Kartal said she had been hugely motivated by the loss to Slamkova when they first met in Bath last year.

The Slovakian came back from behind after dropping a set to win the match which went to two tiebreaks.

The Jasmine Open champion was determined on Sunday to not let that happen again.

“First of all, Rebecca, you played an amazing game today,” Kartal said. “I remember losing to you exactly one year ago and I really wanted revenge today. To your team and coaches, you guys had a great week and I wish you all the best for the rest of the year.”

Slamkova noted that fatigue likely played a role during the match.

“I did my best but I was just too tired today,” admitted Slamkova, who accepted the loss with ease.

Kartalu now hopes to cement her place inside the top 100 by the end of the year and be in an ideal position to attack aggressively towards 2025, while still basking in the glory of her first career WTA title.

“It feels incredible right now,” Kartal said. “I tried really hard to forget about what happened, forget about the score and just try to make it the same as any other game.”

“It’s been a really good week. I’ve been playing my best tennis and I feel like I’m getting better with each match.”

“I started the year with the goal of finishing in the top 150 and now I’ve achieved that. I want to finish the year in the top 100 and put myself in the best position for Australia.”

What else will be on Sky Sports Tennis in September?

• Korea Open – WTA 500 (September 16-22 – Emma Raducanu)
• Thailand Open – WTA 250 (September 16-22)
• Chengdu Open – ATP 250 (September 17-24)
• Hangzhou Open – ATP 250 (September 18-24)
• Japan Open – ATP 500 (September 25th – October 1st)
• China Open – ATP 500 (September 26th – October 2nd)
• China Open – WTA 1000 (September 25th – October 6th)

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