Wimbledon 2025: Sussex ace Kartal breezes into third round

There was not an empty seat as one of the best-dressed players in SW19 eased past Viktoriya Tomova 6-2 6-2 to reach the third round for the second year in a row, with victory met by rapturous applause by a crowd getting behind its affable home hopeful. Kartal was the first Brit to reach the third round of the singles events.

Victory came on the same No.3 Court where Brighton star Kartal downed former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the first round, but this was an altogether more straightforward assignment as she displayed far too much power and guile for her Bulgarian opponent.

It is a court that has become a second home for Kartal, though she may have to get used to bigger stages should she progress into the second week.

“I wanted to back up the run I had last year,” said Kartal. “I didn’t want people to think it was just one, two good weeks out of the year. “I really wanted to show that I am at this level and I can produce.

“After the match against Jelena, I had so much confidence. I feel like with each match on grass here I am growing in confidence.

“In the warm-up this morning I felt good, on court I felt good, I felt like I was hitting it really clean. I think I just had one of those days where it was a very good day in the office.”

If some players are great showmen on court, Kartal is very much all business. She required just over an hour to clear her desk on Wednesday afternoon, with her unrelenting, whipping forehand providing plenty of the entertainment.

It is this approach that has seen Kartal solidify herself well within the world’s top 100, and she is now likely to surpass her career high of 49 by the end of Wimbledon; how high she will climb will depend on how deep she can go in SW19.

“On the court I am pretty tunnel vision, I don’t like to give much away,” she said. “I like to keep calm and try and see out the match.

“The last 12 months I have thrown myself onto the scene, this year I only wanted to play the bigger matches to get used to playing the best players on tour day in day out.

“I feel like I am playing better, I am playing with more confidence and freedom in my game.”

For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website.