Kartal thrives but Boulter fears ‘moment’ may not come

Wimbledon is all about moments. While Katie Boulter is left wondering whether hers will ever come, fellow Briton Sonay Kartal is grasping hers.

Boulter had made the dream start at SW19 by beating ninth seed Paula Badosa in the opening round, but then let a lead slip in a three-set defeat by lucky loser Solana Sierra.

It is the second successive year the British number two has failed to reach the third round at Wimbledon.

“Of course it hurts, it’s a really tough pill to swallow – it always is here,” said Boulter.

Her exit was all the more disappointing given how well she had played against Spaniard Badosa.

She was the underdog in that match and seemed to relish that status, but was the favourite against Argentine rookie Sierra.

A fightback from 5-2 down to take the first set showed promise, but Boulter made too many mistakes as her 21-year-old opponent won the next two sets for a 6-7 (9-7) 6-2 6-1 win.

“You can look at a piece of paper and be like, ‘oh, this is a terrible loss’,” added the 28-year-old.

In contrast, Kartal appears to be thriving at Wimbledon.

The 23-year-old has enjoyed an impressive rise in the last 12 months and beat 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko in the first round – her third win against a top-20 opponent this year. She followed that by powering past Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova 6-2 6-2 to reach the third round.

Kartal is a recognisable presence on the court with her tattoos and distinctly retro tennis kit, and appears to be enjoying playing on the big stage.

Her path to professional tennis is not a well-trodden one, having had to largely self-fund her career, something she credits with helping her to mature very quickly.

“When I was growing up, I kind of did quite a lot of tournaments on my own just because I couldn’t afford to pay a coach week in and week out,” said Kartal, who has climbed around 250 places in the rankings over the past year to 51st.

“I think it was great. It helped me develop as a teenager, grow up super fast, made me much more mature, hold myself accountable to a lot of things. “

Next up for Kartal is a match against French qualifier Diane Parry, who beat 12th seed and world number 15 Diana Shnaider to reach the third round.

The British number three is determined to keep her good form going as she looks to reach the fourth round for the first time.

“I think having a home Slam, I think that’s one arena I really want to perform well in front of the people that mean the most to me, friends and family and everyone,” added Kartal.