Indian Wells: Sonay Kartal beats Polina Kudermetova to reach fourth round
Kartal has a great ending to 2024, winning her first WTA Tour title and breaking into the top 100 in the world.
The 23-year-old started a difficult year after a health panic.
Three months later, Qatar returned to the tour and steadily rose its rankings before winning at Monastir in October.
She returned from her early defeat against Kudermetova, winning the first set three straight games, and then took advantage of the advantage as her opponent’s shooting grew more and more ragged.
She will face the daunting task of Belarus’ top seed Sabalenka, who described himself as “a hungry man in court” after losing in January at the Australian Open final.
Madison Keys won her first major title in Melbourne, and he also improved on Monday, beating Elise Mertens 6-2 6-7 (8-10) 6-4.
American Keys have not lost the game this year and will face fellow Emma Navarro or Donna Vekic’s place in the quarterfinals.
