Kartal vs Sramkova: Monastir Final Analysis (WTA 250)
Great shot tolerance and a forehand that wouldn't miss led Kartal to a first WTA Tour title.
Sonay Kartal (WTA #161) arrived in Monastir with a 37-7 record and 5 ITF Tour W35 titles on the season. She left as the newest WTA 250 champion.
Two months ago, a #295-ranked Kartal made the headlines with a fairytale run at Wimbledon. She emerged from qualifying and was only stopped by Coco Gauff in the third round. Since then, Kartal has been virtually unstoppable. With 19 wins and a single loss to Yuliia Starodubtseva in the final qualifying round of the US Open, Kartal has won 3 of 4 events played after Wimbledon. If the first 2 titles were at ITF Tour level, Kartal has now expanded her winning habits to the main Tour.
In a breakthrough week at Monastir, Kartal came through qualifying once again, avenged her defeat to Starodubtseva in the quarters and finished with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Rebecca Sramkova (WTA #113), in a match featuring first-time WTA singles finalists on both ends of the court.
Victory in the championship match extended Kartal’s remarkable winning streak in singles finals to 14, across all pro levels. Over her career, Kartal has just lost one final and it was the first.
Such amazing record when stakes are at their highest denotes how calm and composed Kartal can be under pressure. She certainly displayed those attributes during the Monastir final. Throughout the match, Kartal showed patience, made impeccable shot selection, always played within herself and covered the court well. In the end, her greater consistency left Sramkova increasingly frustrated and resulted in a decisive 21-point difference in unforced errors (Kartal made 18, Sramkova had 39).
The Monastir final was a grind. Average rally length was 6.53 shots per point. Out of 144 points played, 52 were long rallies and 37 were medium rallies (36% and 26%, respectively).
With the wind picking up, conditions only got tougher as the match progressed. But nothing seemed to bother Kartal.