Kartal upsets ninth seed Bencic at Wuhan Open

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 08:32 · Archive

British player Sonay Kartal defeated Swiss ninth seed Belinda Bencic 6-0 7-5 in the second round of the Wuhan Open.

Sonay Kartal secured a career-defining victory by defeating Swiss world number 12 Belinda Bencic 6-0 7-5 in the second round of the Wuhan Open. The 24-year-old from Brighton has claimed the second biggest win of her career by ranking, continuing an impressive comeback from injury.

Kartal missed six months of the season with a stress fracture in her back suffered in March, causing her to miss three of the year's four Grand Slams including Wimbledon. She returned to action last month at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen and reached the third round at the Beijing Open before her victory over Bencic in Wuhan.

Having slipped from a career-high ranking of 44 to 170th following her injury absence, Kartal said at a press conference: 'I trusted that I would be able to get my level back, I just didn't know how quickly. I can produce the level, but can I sustain it – I think that's going to be the hardest challenge. I'm happy to be back, I'm feeling good.' She will face either Italian 15th seed Jasmine Paolini or Czech player Nikola Bartunkova in the third round.

How it is being reported

• Sonay Kartal upsets Belinda Bencic as promising return from injury continuesKartal secured the second biggest win of her career with an impressive performance in WuhanIndependent Sport · 14 Oct, 08:12
• Briton Kartal upsets Bencic at Wuhan OpenSonay Kartal upsets Swiss ninth seed Belinda Bencic to reach the Wuhan Open third round as she continues to build momentum.BBC Sport · 14 Oct, 07:41

In this story: Sonay Kartal · Belinda Bencic · Wuhan Open · Brighton · Switzerland

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