Week 7 of the UK Pro League which featured and extended men’s draw finished with Sonay Kartal and Giles Hussey crowned winners. It makes it three weeks of the UK Pro League in a row for the 19-year-0ld Sonay Kartal.
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Backing up her wins in weeks 5 and 6, Kartal played some scintillating tennis throughout the week, but the win was not without close moments, including defending a match point in her quarter-final against Freya Christie. In the final she ran out winner against Emma Wilson, who was playing her first UK Pro League final. Her most impressive win of the week came in the dismantling of league-leader Emily Appleton in the semi-finals. The 6-0, 6-1 shocked Appleton who has won three weeks of this years competition and before this week had never failed to make the final. After the semi-final Kartal said”
“I’m just going to look to keep on doing what I’m doing, playing an aggressive game style and using my forehand.
“I think I kept my consistency up and played well in the big points under pressure. I didn’t really give her much to work with and my unforced error count was pretty low.“This week I’m just happy with the consecutive wins I’m getting – I’m coming up against some good players and being able to keep my form and concentration is the main thing.
In the men’s draw debutant Giles Hussey went unbeaten all week to kick start his UK Pro League career in the perfect way. The silky left hander defeated the in-form Week 6 winner Billy Harris in the final 6-3, 6-4. He had to come through a tense semi-final match against Sean Hodkin, which went to a match tiebreak, finishing 6-2, 3-6, 11-9.
With only two more weeks of regulation action before the lucrative finals week kicks off, there was added pressure for players to grab ranking points. The women’s league leader Emily Appleton failed to reach the final for the first time in 5 attempts, albeit losing out to the incredible Sonay Kartal in the semi-finals.
There was also a standout performance for Sean Hodkin who achieved his best finish at the UK Pro League this year finishing 3rd. He defeated the experienced Dan Cox in the semi-final. Hodkin moves up to 7th position in the league rankings, and with the season drawing to a conclusion every ranking point is more vital than ever.
Week 8 of the UK Pro League kicks off on 27th September, with the UK Pro League returning to the Aldershot Tennis Centre once more.