'Show goes on' - British star Kartal's rise continues

Sonay Kartal underlined her status as a rising star of British tennis when she produced a blistering performance to beat France's Diane Parry and reach the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time.

After losing the first three games of this match, the 23-year-old turned on the style, winning nine games in a row on her way to a 6-4 6-2 victory.

Kartal was ranked 864th in the world three years ago but arrived at her home Grand Slam positioned just outside the top 50.

And she has certainly caught the eye at Wimbledon, seeing off 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko in the first round and then breezing past Viktoriya Tomova in straight sets.

Her reward for her progress was a third-round match on Court One and, after a slow start, she drew on the energy from the vocal home crowd to simply overpower qualifier Parry with some strong serving and powerful shots.

When Parry sent a forehand long at match point to confirm the victory, Kartal raised her arms and soaked up the adulation of the crowd, who had been enthralled by the encounter from start to finish.

"I started pretty nervously, it is definitely the biggest and most meaningful stage I've played," Kartal said.

"I appreciate you guys sticking behind me every single point, it really helps."

Kartal will next face world number 50 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who knocked out Naomi Osaka in round three.

She arrived here ranked the British number three but her superb displays at Wimbledon so far could lead to her finishing the tournament as the number one ranked player in the country - an impressive rise for a player who was just inside the top 300 in the world this time last year.

She is also the fourth unseeded British woman to reach the fourth round this century after Laura Robson, Heather Watson and current British number one Emma Raducanu.

Kartal's form is not the only was she is standing out at Wimbledon, with her baggy, retro tennis clothes and 14 tattoos also catching the eye.

One of those tattoos reads "The Show Must Go On" and so it proves as she became the first British woman to reach the fourth round at this year's tournament.

She could well be joined by Raducanu later on Friday but for anyone who was not aware of Kartal's exciting talent, they will be now after such a dominant display.

Nerves at playing in front of a large and vocal home support on Court One may have played a part in her slow start, although Parry was certainly no pushover after seeing off 12th seed Diana Shnaider in round two.

But once Kartal found her rhythm, it is no exaggeration to say she was practically unstoppable.

Self-funded for much of her teenage years, Kartal's route to professional tennis was not the most well trodden, while she also did not pick up a racquet for two years because of injury.

But she has credited those difficult times with helping her mature more quickly which, in turn, has helped her developing career start to flourish.

Now she is proving a player to watch at Wimbledon.

She added: "Everyone in this tournament is an unbelievable player but whether I am playing the number one in the world or the number 300 I will still respect that opponent.

"I will just approach the next match as I have these last matches."