Sonay Kartal taking positives from Surbiton display

By Jonny Bray at Surbiton

Sonay Kartal insists she can take a lot of confidence from a strong showing against British No.3 Katie Boulter despite suffering elimination from the LTA’s Lexus Surbiton Trophy at the Round of 16.

The British No.8 impressed in a real battle on Court 1, winning the first set before falling to a 3-6 6-3 6-3 defeat.

Boulter will now face former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Viktorija Golubic in the next round.

And despite suffering a disappointing defeat, Kartal believes there are plenty of positives to take into an exciting season of grass-court action.

"Yeah, I was happy with how I played," said the 21-year-old.

"I think it was always going to be tough, playing against a player like Katie on grass.

"She definitely loves playing on grass and suits playing on the surface very well.

"Despite the result, I was definitely very happy with how I played, and it will definitely give me a lot of confidence heading into tournaments during the rest of the grass-court season.

"It was quite hot and a little bit windy, but I don't think that is the reason that I lost.

"She served unbelievably well towards the end of the match, and she managed to break me in the third set.

"She served too well; I couldn't get a racket on her."

Boulter's progression to the quarterfinals capped a historic day of action in West London, with four British women qualifying for the quarterfinals for the first time since 2017.

British No.5 Swan was on the verge of winning the first set of her Round of 16 clash with Océane Dodin before her French rival retired.

16-year-old Lacy's fairytale run in the tournament continued following the withdrawal of the USA's Sachia Vickery.

Miyazaki then recorded a convincing 6-4 7-5 triumph over her long-term friend Eden Silva before Boulter made history on Court 1.

And it could have gotten even better.

A win for Harriet Dart against Maria would have meant five British women in the quarterfinals for the first time, but despite battling hard she lost 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4 to the top seed.

History had been made before Boulter and Kartal took to the court, with the Battle of the Brits meaning four British women were already in the quarters.

And Kartal believes Boulter is a force to be reckoned with on grass.

She added: "I think on grass it definitely makes it even trickier, the goal was just to try and get a racket on it.

"I just needed to get the ball into play, but a lot of the time she didn't let me do that.

"I am heading to Nottingham tomorrow and then I will be in Ilkley the following week."

For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website