Sonai Kartar beats lucky loser after Belinda Bencic withdraws in Abu Dhabi
Britain’s Sonay Kartal beat lucky loser Renata Zarazua to reach the last eight of the Abu Dhabi Open after original opponent and defending champion Belinda Bencic withdrew due to illness.
World number nine Bencic became the first mother to win a WTA singles title since May 2023, when she beat Ashlyn Krueger in last year’s final just four months after returning from maternity leave.
Kartal, who had two qualifying matches and defeated Spain’s Cristina Busca in the first round, defeated Mexico’s Sarasuya 6-0 6-3 in just 57 minutes on court.
The British number two and world number 61 will face 20-year-old Czech Sara Belek in the quarter-finals.
Britain’s Katie Boulter reached the quarter-finals at the Ostrava Open, defeating Swiss fifth seed Viktorija Golubic in straight sets.
The 29-year-old Bolt dropped just two games in each set against fourth-seeded Rebecca Slamkova or Linda Fruvertova.
This is the first time she has won back-to-back main draw singles matches since the Nottingham Open in June.
