Sonay Kartal shines in Wimbledon spotlight to clinch best grand slam result

Yahoo

14 hours ago

Many British players have wilted under the Wimbledon spotlight but Sonay Kartal is revelling in it.
The 23-year-old from Brighton roared into the fourth round after sweeping aside French qualifier Diane Parry.
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She is in the last 16 of a grand slam for the first time in her career after a sizzling 6-4 6-2 victory.
Sonay Kartal celebrates victory over Diane Parry (Andrew Matthews/PA)
When Jack Draper was knocked out by Marin Cilic on Thursday he admitted the expectation levels surrounding home players made him realise just how big two-time winner Andy Murray's achievements were.
But laid-back Kartal is taking all the hype in her stride as she prepares for a crack at Russian veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the quarter-finals.
'I enjoy it. I think it's an honour,' she said. 'Obviously if you've got a lot of attention on you, it means you're doing good things.
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'I'm pretty calm and pretty collected. I don't think it's going to affect me too much. But no, I'm just enjoying it all. I'll still pretty young. It's my first fourth round.
'I feel like I'm going to go out on the court in the next round kind of with nothing to lose at the minute. I'm going to go swinging.
'I think the pressure that I'll feel is the pressure I will be putting on myself just wanting to perform as best as I can.'
Kartal, ranked 298 this time last year, is on the cusp of the top 50 and could even finish the tournament as British number one, usurping Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter.
She is the fourth unseeded British woman to reach the fourth round this century after Laura Robson, Heather Watson and Raducanu.
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Kartal has been shining on Court Three this week but on Friday she was first up on Court One, the scene of her defeat by Coco Gauff at the same stage last year.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova awaits in round four (John Walton/PA)
She made a nervous start, falling 4-1 behind, but then won the next nine games to move a set and 4-0 up on her way to a hugely impressive victory in an hour and 22 minutes.
'I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous walking out there,' she added. 'It's a big court with a match that has a lot of meaning to me.
'Obviously last year, that was also in the back of my mind, losing to Coco on the same court in the same round.
'I tried to take everything I learnt from that match and put it into play on the court, tried to relax as best as I could.
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'When I got it level, I felt like I was pretty good. The nerves were gone. I just felt super comfortable out there.'