Kartal pleased with Surbiton showing

Sonay Kartal insists she can take a lot of confidence from a strong showing against British No.3 Katie Boulter despite suffering elimination from the LTA's Lexus Surbiton Trophy at the Round of 16. The British No.8 impressed in a real battle on Court 1, winning the first set before falling to a 3-6 6-3 6-3 defeat. Ad Boulter will now face former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Viktorija Golubic in the next round.

Roland-GarrosDjokovic booed after 'extravagant' reaction to line call against Alcaraz27 MINUTES AGO And despite suffering a disappointing defeat, Kartal believes there are plenty of positives to take into an exciting season of grass-court action. «Yeah, I was happy with how I played,» said the 21-year-old. «I think it was always going to be tough, playing against a player like Katie on grass.

»She definitely loves playing on grass and suits playing on the surface very well. «Despite the result, I was definitely very happy with how I played, and it will definitely give me a lot of confidence heading into tournaments during the rest of the grass-court season. »It was quite hot and a little bit windy, but I don't think that is the reason that I lost.

«She served unbelievably well towards the end of the match, and she managed to break me in the third set. »She served too well; I couldn't get a racket on her." Boulter's progression to the quarterfinals capped a historic day of action in West London, with four British women qualifying for the quarterfinals for the first time since 2017. British No.5 Swan was on the verge of winning the first set of her Round of 16 clash with Océane Dodin before her French rival retired.