‘Unbelievable opener’ – Sonay Kartal delighted to beat Daria Kasatkina at Queen’s

The 23-year-old, who is currently ranked 50th in the WTA rankings and received a wildcard for the event, showed no fear as she came out firing in her first match at the famous venue to triumph over Kasatkina 6-1 3-6 6-3.

The tournament marks the first time since 1973 that a women's event has been held at The Queen's Club and Kartal made sure that British singles hopes got off to a strong start on the freshly named Andy Murray Arena, heralding the performance as one of the best in her career.

"The nerves hit me a little bit - I'm not going to lie," she said. "But it was an unbelievable opener for me, to be able to play on this court as well, with everyone cheering me on, it was a super-special moment.

"It was my first grass tournament, first match, and I was nervous going into that one. "I knew it was going to be far from easy, but it's probably one of the best matches I've played - that was a solid first round".

The Brit immediately shut out her opposition and took the first five games in her stride to continue her recent fine form, overpowering Kasatkina in all areas in the opening set. The tables soon turned, however, with Kasatkina finally finding her range and putting the challenge to Kartal.

Kasatkina forced a third and seemed to be in contention to turn the match around before a series of double faults from the Australian led Kartal to capitalise on the moment. The Brit ultimately came out on top and sealed her spot in the second round.

Kartal has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the rankings already this year, making the fourth round at Indian Wells and the second round at Roland Garros and noted her excitement in continued strong performances on court.

"The last year has been crazy - it's not what I thought would happen," she said. "The last two months I've played in bigger tournaments and I feel I handle the bigger occasions better. I'm not saying it's getting any easier but I'm just getting better handling this crazy sport."

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