Sonay Kartal’s Wimbledon run came to an end as Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defied some umpiring controversy to reach the quarter-finals.
Kartal knew that victory would see her move above Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter to become the British No1, and there appeared to be every chance of her doing so when she stepped up to serve for the first set.
But Pavlyuchenkova broke and forced a tie-break which she won, before taking control of the second set and securing a return to the last-eight at SW19 for the first time since 2016 with a 7-6 6-4 win.
She did so despite being left furious when broken to trail 5-4 in the opening set, accusing the decision-making process of favouring Kartal because she was British.
A backhand from Kartal landed beyond the baseline when Pavlyuchenkova had game point but there was no shout from the electronic line-calling system that is in place for the first time at Wimbledon this year.
Pavlyuchenkova stopped and the umpire then informed the crowd that a check was needed to see if the system was working, as both players were left waiting in bemusement.
Replays showed Kartal’s shot was comfortably out, but after a three-minute delay the umpire said: “The electronic system was unable to track the last point so it will be replayed."
Kartal went on to win the game and break in what could have proved to be a pivotal moment, and Pavlyuchenkova made her frustration clear at the change of ends.
"I don’t know if it’s in or it’s out,” she said.
“How do I know? How can you prove it? Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me.”
Pavlyuchenkova added: "They stole the game from me, they stole it."
A Wimbledon spokesman said: "Due to operator error the system was deactivated on the point in question. The chair umpire followed the established process."
'They stole the game from me' 😠
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 6, 2025
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova wasn't happy when #Wimbledon's electronic line-calling system failed ❌ pic.twitter.com/JA0WIYSccD
It was a first set where momentum swung from one side of the court to the other. Of the first ten games, six went to deuce and seven had break points.
Breaks were exchanged as it remained locked at 4-4 until controversy hit, when Pavlyuchenkova was denied the game-winning point and Kartal then broke as the Russian netted a volley.
But Kartal could not serve the set out, Pavlyuchenkova taking her frustration out on the ball as her forehands sounded like a gunshot under the roof. She was the better player in the tie-break and took the set after 78 minutes.
The match was on the Russian’s racket, with 36 winners to go with 47 unforced errors, and the second set was one she always looked the more likely to win.
Kartal responded well after being broken in the opening game but Pavlyuchenkova regained her advantage and this time did not give it up, victory fittingly sealed with one final forehand winner.
