Sonay Kartal: British star digs deep to beat Jelena Ostapenko and secure a spot in her first-ever WTA 1000 final

Britain's Sonay Kartal was forced to dig deep to beat Jelena Ostapenko and secure a spot in her first-ever WTA 1000 final on Saturday.

Kartal became only the second British woman, after Johanna Konta (Beijing 2016, Miami 2017, Rome 2019), to reach a WTA 1000 final with a stunning 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-5) victory over Ostapenko.

Currently 170th in the WTA rankings, Kartal will break inside the top 50 and become the new British No 1 after becoming the lowest-ranked player to reach the final in Wuhan.

The 24-year-old, playing in only her third tournament since returning from a back injury, saved multiple set points to punish Ostapenko, despite the Latvian hitting an astonishing 50 winners in the match.

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Kartal, who made her breakthrough by reaching the fourth round of last year's Wimbledon, said: "That was one of the toughest matches I've played.

"I know exactly how she was going to play. At times she's unplayable, but sometimes you have to ride that wave and mentally this is one of the best performances I've had in my career so very proud of that one.

"I was dreaming of playing this match before the injury so to be able to come back here in my third event and to achieve this regardless is a huge milestone for me, so I'm going to recover and enjoy every second tomorrow."

Kartal clawed back a double break in the opening set and rode her luck on serve before forcing a marathon tie-break which she edged 11-9 after saving two set points.

And she also had to dig deep in the second set, recovering another break and saving two more set points on serve at 6-5 before forcing a second tie-break, which she won to complete a famous win.

Her victory over Ostapenko extended a remarkable series of wins against former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, ex-Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini, and world No 6 Elina Svitolina.

She will take on Maja Chwalinska in Sunday's final after the French Open finalist upset fellow Pole and former world No 1 Iga Swiatek 7-5 6-1.

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Kartal vs Ostapenko: Tale of the Tape

After reaching the fourth round of Indian Wells in March, Kartal missed three of this year's four Grand Slams, including Wimbledon after six months out with a stress fracture in her back, returning last month at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.

Previously ranked as high as No 44 in the world, she showed positive signs by reaching the third round in Beijing earlier this month, but scarcely could have expected such a level of success so soon.

'Kartal playing the tennis of her life'

Speaking on Sky Sports Tennis, British doubles specialist and Grand Slam quarter-finalist turned coach and commentator, Colin Fleming said: "Her ability to stay in the present got her through. She kept cool to ultimately outlast Ostapenko, who hit 50 winners past her and still couldn't win a set.

"Just a brilliant achievement and the run doesn't stop here. She's playing the tennis of her life and she's got every chance of getting her hands on the title."

He added: "It's just so impressive the way she takes it all in her stride. Fascinating to hear her say this was a win for her mentality because it did carry her across the line in both sets when Ostapenko was losing it really.

"Kartal was there, composed, and ready to take her chances when it came. Every reason for me to think she's going to play a good match in the final. I'm not saying she's going to win but that's exciting to know. I have full confidence she's going to handle that occasion, play her tennis, which has been exceptional this week, and assuming she does that she'll give herself every chance."

Davidovich Fokina beats Zverev, sets up all-Spanish Shanghai final with Jodar

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina upset top seed Alexander Zverev 5-7 6-4 6-3 to reach the Shanghai ‌Masters final, where he was joined by fellow Spaniard Rafael Jodar after the 20-year-old sensation downed former world No 1 Daniil Medvedev.

Davidovich Fokina, ​the 25th seed, fired 36 winners in the two-hour, two-minute contest to secure only his second victory over Zverev in eight meetings.

Jodar continued his remarkable rise by ​becoming the youngest Shanghai finalist in tournament history and strengthening his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals ​in his first full season on the tour with a 6-3 6-4 victory over fifth-seeded Medvedev.

"It was a very tough match," Jodar said. "In ⁠the first set all the games were very close, with breakpoints ​for him, breakpoints for me.

"I'm super happy with how I handled the important moments in the first set, ​and also how I returned and served.

"Daniil is always a very tough player. I think he played great today. So I had to be at my best level to beat him."

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