Sonay Kartal was overpowered by Madison Keys in the first round of Wimbledon today (Wednesday 5 July).
The 21-year-old wild card was the final British singles entrant to make it on to court but her stay was a brief one as 25th seed Keys blasted her way to a 6-0 6-3 victory.
Kartal’s defeat means six of the 14 home players reached the second round, with Jodie Burrage already out in the second round.
This was one of the more difficult draws, with Keys a natural fit for grass and full of confidence after winning the warm-up title in Eastbourne on Saturday (1 July).
Kartal, who was Emma Raducanu’s big rival as a junior before injuries set her back, did not play badly in the first set but she was unable to convert the chances she had.
All too often Keys ended points with thumping forehands and, while Kartal finally got on the board in the second game of the second set, she dropped serve again to trail 3-1.
The world number 266 fought hard to make a contest of it but was unable to take any of the five break points she created.
After the match, Kartal said: “I knew coming into it it was going to be tough.
“Straight from that first point she came out guns blazing. I didn’t do too much wrong. She just played too good sometimes.
“Second set I definitely had my chances. Overall, I’m fairly happy with my performance today.”
Kartal made her Wimbledon debut last year and believes she is heading in the right direction, with a place in the top 150 her target for the rest of the season.
She said: “I think if you compare my grass season this year compared to last year, I think I made huge strides in my game.
“For me, grass tennis is probably the surface that pushes me to do exactly what I need to do to get better. That’s to play more aggressive and flatten out a few shots.
“I have got a nice rest of the season, nothing to defend, so it’s almost like a free run for me. I’m looking to take advantage of that as much as possible.”
