Sonay Kartal made history as the British No3 reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the very first time with victory over Diane Parry at Wimbledon.
The 23-year-old beat the French qualifier 6-4 6-2 in a ruthless performance on Court No1, winning nine consecutive games to come from 4-1 down in the first set to win it and then build up a 4-0 lead in the second.
The world No51 will now face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the round of 16. The Russian is ranked only one place above her but has knocked out the 31st seed Ashlyn Krueger and on Friday stunned the four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka.
Kartal is competing at Wimbledon for only the fourth time but has now gone further than at any previous Grand Slam. She exited in the third round as a qualifier last year, following first-round defeats as a wildcard in both 2022 and 2023.
The draw has been kind to the Brit, though she could meet the 13th seed Amanda Anisimova in the quarter-finals if she makes it past Pavlyuchenkova on Sunday.
Kartal’s performance on Court No1 against Parry will have raised expectations about how far she can go at SW19 this year, with her blend of offensive big-hitting play and robust baseline defending proving too much for the world No103.
After seeing a break point come and go on Parry’s serve in the first game of the match, Kartal was broken in the second as her nerves showed early on.
She grew into the contest, though, and broke back soon enough, making it back from 4-2 to 4-4 before breaking once more and taking the first set 6-4.
The Sidcup-born right-hander was not done there. She broke Parry’s serve in the first and third games of the second set, earning a commanding 4-0 lead in the second as she won her ninth straight game of a match she was by now utterly dominating.
Parry regrouped and held serve twice in a row, but she was to be broken once more, decisively, as Kartal went for the jugular and made sure of her passage to the fourth round.
“Everyone saw from the way I started that I was pretty nervous,” Kartal admitted afterwards.
“It was the most meaningful stage I’ve played don. I appreciate you guys sticking behind me for every single point, it really helps.
“I’ve been a lot more consistent in my game. I’ve managed to keep as many niggles and injuries not too common that they keep me out.”
Reflecting on her rise from the beginning of 2024 to now, Kartal added: “I was playing with a lot of freedom on the practice court. I trusted it would transfer to the match court.
“I’ve played some tough opponents. It doesn’t matter if I’m playing No1 in the world or 300 in the world — I’ve got to respect every opponent and approach the next match just as I approached these last few matches.
“I’m super grateful to be out here and to get the win on this court today.”
In a previous press conference, Kartal suggested she would get a new tattoo if she did well at Wimbledon this year.
Reminded of that, she laughed, before admitting: “I’m not one to say no to a tattoo. I can easily be persuaded. I said in the press for anyone who has any ideas to let me know.”
