Sonay Kartal reaches Wimbledon fourth round for first time after sweeping past Parry

Sonay Kartal reached the fourth round at a major for the first time with a dominant 6-4, 6-2 victory over the French qualifier Diane Parry.

Kartal started the third-round match on No 1 Court aggressively, putting Parry on the defensive, and unleashing an overhead smash winner to lead 30-15 in her opponent’s opening service game. Parry rallied with a beautiful forehand down the line before Kartal brought the game to deuce and earned a break point. Parry, undeterred, saved it with a well-placed volley winner and ultimately held serve after a hard-fought six-minute game.

The world No 103 then broke in Kartal’s first service game. The British No 3 fired down two successive aces before seeing her efforts negated by a double fault, pushing the game to deuce. Parry’s willingness to approach the net paid off handsomely, as a deft backhand volley winner earned her a break point and she secured it with a forehand into the corner.

Parry held serve to 30 in the third game, with an inch-perfect slice from her single-handed backhand, putting the pressure firmly on her opponent. The Frenchwoman continued to dominate at the net, executing a brilliant stretch volley winner off a backhand pass. However, after 21 minutes of play, Kartal finally got on the board, holding serve to 30, much to the appreciation of the Court No 1 crowd.

The tide began to turn in the sixth game of the first set with Kartal holding serve with an ace to finish the job. The atmosphere on Court No 1 was tense as she then surged to a 0-40 lead in the next game, earning three break points. Parry bravely saved the first two but the crowd roared their encouragement for the home player. Cue a tense, cat-and-mouse rally: Kartal attempted a drop shot, Parry dug out a shot to the baseline, and Kartal, opting for a down-the-line backhand instead of a lob, netted the shot. Parry’s second double-fault of the match presented Kartal with a fourth break point and her low slice forced Parry to net a forehand, and secured the break back.

At this juncture, Kartal’s groundstrokes began to find their mark, landing close to the lines. She consolidated the break by holding serve to 30. Suddenly, it was Parry’s unforced error count that was climbing, reaching 15 for the set as Kartal levelled at 4-4.

Sonay Kartal (below) during her match against Diane Parry. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

An extra bounce in her step and increased confidence in her shot-making were palpable. Momentum swung. Kartal dug deep, battling back from deuce, to break Parry once more, taking a 5-4 lead following a fourth double fault from her opponent.

Serving to take the set that initially looked like slipping through fingers, Kartal hit two unreturned serves before Parry hit a forehand and backhand long in succession.

Frustration began to mount for the French player in the second set with a meekly sliced backhand into the net, offering Kartal two immediate break points. The British No 3 then sliced a backhand to Parry’s forehand, which she flicked long, securing the break.

At 40-0 on her own serve, Kartal attempted a cheeky serve-and-volley, a bold move that, while ultimately not coming off, showed her growing confidence. She held serve nonetheless with a whipping a high topspin forehand into the corner for a decisive winner. Parry, clearly frustrated did manage to hold serve twice and force Kartal to serve for the match.

And she did just that with a forehand winner and a blistering ace. One of the Brit’s 14 tattoos reads: “The show must go on.” And on it goes to a match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who defeated former champion Naomi Osaka in three sets.