Sonay Kartal's burgeoning top-level career reaches its new zenith on Sunday, as the Briton faces Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova in her first WTA Tour final at the Jasmin Open.
Kartal's semi-final with Eva Lys ended after just 22 minutes as her opponent retired, while Sramkova - also making her WTA Tour final debut - defeated Italy's Lucia Bronzetti in straight sets.
Match preview
© Imago
No matter what transpires in the Tunisian city of Monastir on Sunday afternoon, or indeed for the remainder of the year, the 2024 campaign should only be looked back on with unbridled fondness by Kartal, who now prepares to compete for an elite-level title for the very first time.
The 22-year-old's run to the trophy match is even more laudable when taking into account she had to go through qualifying to even earn a spot in the main draw, but since breezing through the preliminary rounds, she has dropped just one set from her four contests.
That mini-defeat came in the first set of her first-round battle with Jaqueline Cristian, whom she fought back to defeat in three before getting the job done in straight sets against Mai Hontama and Yuliia Starodubtseva to earn a semi-final date with Lys, who eliminated reigning champion Elise Mertens in round two.
However, the blockbuster battle that some may have anticipated did not materialise, as Kartal raced into a 5-1 lead before her German counterpart retired due to illness, thus sending the Brit through to her first top-level final just after her WTA Tour quarters and semis debuts.
A seasoned winner on the ITF Circuit - triumphing in 13 straight finals up to August 2024 - the world number 151 is now making serious waves among the elite crowd, memorably also reaching the third round of Wimbledon this year as a qualifier before falling to Coco Gauff's superiority.
© Imago
One of Gauff or Sramkova will etch their name onto a WTA Tour trophy for the first time on Sunday, as the Slovakian has followed a somewhat similar path to her inaugural top-level final, also dropping the first set of her tournament before going on the warpath.
Sramkova was also forced to do it the hard way against Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo in round three, losing the opener 6-1 and saving a match point to cap off a terrific fightback, but she was a dominant 6-3 6-4 victor over Italian seventh seed Bronzetti in the final four.
The world number 136 admitted to making a few more mistakes than she would have liked, attributing such errors to the windy conditions in Tunisia, but she conjured up 29 winners over the course of the one-hour and 31-minute battle and harnessed her turnaround powers by coming back from an immediate break down in set two.
Sharing Kartal's 13 ITF Circuit singles titles and boasting one runners-up prize on the Challenger tour, the 2024 campaign has also been one of significant growth for the 27-year-old, who made her Wimbledon, Indian Wells and Rome debuts before making her first WTA Tour championship match.
Sramkova strikingly made it as far as round four at the WTA 1000 Italian Open, defeating British number one Katie Boulter en route to the last 16 of that tournament, meaning that Kartal is out to avenge her compatriot as well as gun for her first slice of elite-level glory in Monastir.
Tournament so far
Sonay Kartal:
First round: vs. Jaqueline Cristian 4-6 6-3 7-5
Second round: vs. Mai Hontama 6-2 6-2
Quarter-final: vs. Yuliia Starodubtseva 7-6[4] 6-2
Semi-final: vs. Eva Lys 5-1 ret.
Rebecca Sramkova:
First round: vs. Elsa Jacquemot 2-6 7-5 6-3
Second round: vs. Clara Burel 7-6[4] 7-5
Quarter-final: vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo 1-6 7-6[5] 7-5
Semi-final: vs. Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-4
Head To Head
Bath Open (2023) - Last 16: Sramkova wins 7-6[8] 3-6 7-6[6]
Even though Sunday's final will be Kartal and Sramkova's first meeting at WTA 250 level, the two finalists have already clashed once as professionals, facing off in Bath last year on the ITF circuit.
If the Jasmin showpiece is anything like their maiden meeting, spectators are in for a treat, as the Slovakian won a three-set epic 7-6[8] 3-6 7-6[6] against Kartal - who was the tournament's top seed - in the last 16.
Sramkova went on to win the W25 tournament, which was her 11th title on the ITF Circuit and her second on indoor hard courts.
We say: Sramkova to win in three sets
It would take a courageous soul to predict the outcome of Sunday's final with total confidence; Kartal should head into the showpiece event with fresher legs thanks to Lys's retirement and has one formidable backhand on her.
However, Sramkova possesses an exceptional ability to turn the tide in her favour when up against it, and if Sunday's final goes to three sets - which we think is inevitable - the Slovakian comeback queen has our vote to take home her maiden WTA Tour crown.
Ben Knapton
