Kartal upsets Andreeva to reach China Open quarters

Britain's Sonay Kartal claimed the biggest scalp of her career as she overcame world number five Mirra Andreeva to reach the China Open quarter-finals.

The British number four beat the Russian 7-5 2-6 7-5 in a thrilling contest which lasted two hours and 25 minutes.

The victory, Kartal's first against a player ranked in the top 10, means she has reached the last eight of a WTA 1000 event for the first time.

"She's [Andreeva] a top-10 player for a very good reason," said Kartal.

"She made me play my best tennis today, so credit to her, but I'm super happy with the level I managed out there."

Kartal, 23, edged the first set by taking her sole break point opportunity against the fourth seed.

Andreeva responded emphatically in the second set, breaking twice as Kartal struggled with a 60% first serve percentage.

But Kartal, the world number 81, showed her resilience in the third set as Andreeva failed to build on her momentum.

After failing to take match point, Kartal took her second opportunity as Andreeva fired wide.

Kartal has only dropped one set across four rounds on her way to the last eight in Beijing, where she will face world number 27 Linda Noskova for a place in the semi-finals.