Türkiye's Zeynep Sönmez creates history by advancing to Wimbledon third round
The 88th-ranked Sönmez will play Russian 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round of 32.
No Turkish woman or man had made the third round of a major since the Open Era began in 1968.
One has to go back 75 years to find the last Turkish woman to make it that far, when Bahtiye Musluoğlu reached the third round of the pre-professional French Open in 1950.
Çağla Büyükakçay made the second round at three majors between 2016-17.
Sönmez said she hoped her win ensured it would not be long before another Turkish player matched her achievement.
"My mum and the people in my team told me that there were videos where kids were watching me back at home, in tennis clubs on TV," Sönmez said.
"And I hope they get inspired or they feel like, 'Oh, we can do that too'."
Sönmez, 23, was supported by a number of Turkish fans in the crowd and took selfies with some of them after the match.
"I feel that there are a lot of Turkish people [here] and it makes me very happy," she said.
Sönmez has a WTA title under her belt, having won last year's Merida Open.
She lost in the first round in her three previous appearances at a major.
Sönmez, who enjoyed a career-high ranking of 76 in May, is making her Wimbledon debut.
AP/ABC
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