Sonay Kartal suffers heartbreak at China Open as fairytale run ends in defeat

Sonay Kartal's fairytale China Open run came to an end as she was thwarted by Linda Noskova. The British star reached a maiden WTA 1000 quarter-final after earning the biggest win of her career against world No. 5 Mirra Andreeva in the previous round, but she couldn't keep it going in the quarters.

It had been a statement week for the world No. 81, who has been ranked as high as No. 44. But Noskova, seeded 26th this week, proved too much for Kartal as she sealed a routine 6-3 6-4 victory to reach the semi-finals in Beijing.

Kartal got her China Open campaign off to a strong start when she breezed past Alycia Parks in her opening match. The Brit bagelled 14th seed Daria Kasatkina in the second round and then beat teenage sensation Maya Joint before getting her first top-10 win against Andreeva, coming through to win 7-5 2-6 7-5.

The Brighton-based star would have liked her chances against Noskova, who had only reached one WTA 1000 quarter-final prior to Beijing. But the No. 26 seed set the tone when she broke in the opening game.

Kartal levelled the score at 3-3, but Noskova reeled off three in a row to take the opener 6-3 as the 23-year-old struggled on her serve.

The world No. 81 stepped it up early in the second set, breaking immediately.

But Noskova was relentless and continued creating break point opportunities until she eventually wore Kartal down, getting back on serve at 3-3.

The pressure was back on Kartal's shoulders as she served to stay in the match down 4-5, and she was clearly feeling it, playing an erratic game to get broken to love. Noskova got the job done with another forehand winner, reaching her first-ever WTA 1000 semi-final.

It was a statement performance from the Czech star, who finished with 30 winners compared to just 15 from Kartal.

Afterwards, Noskova told the crowd: "The match, there was lots of ups and downs, definitely because of all the break points, I would say. So definitely, me breaking back in the second set was the main goal for me."

The No. 26 seed is now through to the biggest semi-final of her career, where she faces either Jessica Pegula or Emma Navarro. But no matter what happens, or who she plays, she's happy.

"I would say it's a successful tournament already. It's always tough to find your rhythm and a lot of motivation at the end of the year but I'm just enjoying my time on court and I think that's the main thing right now," Noskova added.

"I might take a look [at Pegula vs Navarro]. But it doesn't really matter for me, I always try to focus on myself when I step on court."