WUHAN, China: British player Sonay Kartal continued her fine run by beating former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5) to reach the Wuhan Open final on Saturday.
Kartal’s victory over the 2017 Roland Garros winner added to previous big wins over Elina Svitolina and two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini.
“That was probably one of the toughest matches I’ve ever played,” Kartal said after beating the Latvian. “At times she is unplayable and you have to ride that wave. Mentally, this is one of the best performances of my career.”
She faces another Grand Slam finalist in the final, after French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska beat six-time major winner Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 an all-Polish semifinal.
The No. 7-seeded Swiatek mixed 37 winners with 33 unforced errors while 16th-seeded Chwalinska had only 19 winners but made just seven unforced errors.
Chwalinska, who reached the French Open final as a qualifier, will aim for a first career title against the No. 170-ranked Kartal. She is bidding for her second career title.
The 24-year-old Kartal, who has a career high ranking of 44 and one singles title, missed more than six months with a stress fracture in her back earlier this year.
Swiatek is looking to gain ground in the Race to the WTA Finals rankings ahead of the season-ending event next month in Indian Wells.
The former No.1-ranked Swiatek is 10th in the race with the top eight qualifying.
Svitolina secured the seventh spot on Saturday, leaving one place remaining. The Ukrainian won it in 2018 without losing a match.