Brit Sonay Kartal into first WTA Tour final after opponent retires through illness

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Britain’s Sonay Kartal reached the first WTA Tour final of her career when opponent Eva Lys retired through illness at the Jasmin Open Tunisia.

Kartal came through qualifying in Monastir and has enjoyed a career-best week, which could culminate in her maiden main tour title when she takes on Rebecca Sramkova in the final on Sunday.

Kartal, a former junior rival of Emma Raducanu, was only on court for 24 minutes before German Lys called it a day trailing 5-1.

The 22-year-old from Brighton will now aim to join Katie Boulter as a British WTA Tour winner this season, while victory would see Kartal break into the top 100 for the first time.

“Obviously no-one wants to win a match like that,” said Kartal. “She’s a super nice girl, which makes it even tougher. Obviously I’m happy to be in the final but it’s definitely not the way I would have liked to have won today.”

It will also be a first WTA Tour final for Slovakian Sramkova, and Kartal added: “I’m sure we’re both going to be feeling a bit heavy, we’re both going to be a bit nervous, but ultimately it will be who can put on the best performance on the big stage.”

It has been a standout summer for Kartal, who reached the third round of Wimbledon as a qualifier before winning two lower-tier tournaments in the UK and making the final round of qualifying at the US Open.