Sonay Kartal continues her winning run by beating Jelena Ostapenko to reach Wuhan Open final

WUHAN, China -- British player Sonay Kartal continued her fine run by beating former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5) to reach the Wuhan Open final on Saturday.

Kartal's victory over the 2017 Roland Garros winner added to previous big wins over Elina Svitolina and two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini.

The No. 170-ranked Kartal missed more than six months with a stress fracture in her back earlier this year.

The 24-year-old Kartal, who has a career high ranking of 44 and one singles title, next faces either six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek or French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska.

The Polish players met later Saturday in their semifinal.

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Winning the Wuhan title would allow Swiatek to pressure Karolina Muchova in the Race to the WTA Finals rankings ahead of the season-ending event next month in Indian Wells.

The former No.1-ranked Swiatek is 10th in the race with the top eight qualifying.

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