Sonay Kartal’s fairytale China Open run came to an end as she was thwarted by Linda Noskova. The British star reached a maiden WTA 1000 quarter-final after earning the biggest win of her career against world No. 5 Mirra Andreeva in the previous round, but she couldn’t keep it going in the quarters.
It had been a statement week for the world No. 81, who has been ranked as high as No. 44. But Noskova, seeded 26th this week, proved too much for Kartal as she sealed a routine 6-3 6-4 victory to reach the semi-finals in Beijing.
Kartal got her China Open campaign off to a strong start when she breezed past Alycia Parks in her opening match. The Brit bagelled 14th seed Daria Kasatkina in the second round and then beat teenage sensation Maya Joint before getting her first top-10 win against Andreeva, coming through to win 7-5 2-6 7-5.
The Brighton-based star would have liked her chances against Noskova, who had only reached one WTA 1000 quarter-final prior to Beijing. But the No. 26 seed set the tone when she broke in the opening game.
Kartal levelled the score at 3-3, but Noskova reeled off three in a row to take the opener 6-3 as the 23-year-old struggled on her serve.
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