Britain’s Sonai Kartal is set to reach a new career-high ranking as she reaches her first final on the WTA Tour.
The 22-year-old qualifier will face Slovakia’s world number 136 Rebecca Sramkova in the final of the Jasmine Open in Tunisia on Sunday.
Kartal were leading 5-1 against Eva Riis in Saturday’s semi-finals when the German retired due to illness.
“I’m sure we’ll both be here tomorrow. Our shoulders will be a bit heavy, we’ll both be a bit nervous,” said Kartal, who is also in her first final with 27-year-old Sramkova.
“But ultimately, it will come down to who can deliver the best performance on the biggest stage.”
Kartal, ranked 151st in the world, had never reached the quarterfinals of a WTA tournament before this week, but has not dropped a set since the first round.
The British number four beat Yulia Starodubtseva 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 in the quarter-finals, avenging her loss to the Ukrainian in the final round of US Open qualifying a few weeks ago.
Brighton’s Kartal also reached the third round of Wimbledon earlier this year and her performance in Monastir means she is now ranked inside the world’s top 120.
Elsewhere, Britain’s Francesca Jones won the first set against Swiss player Jill Tyjkman in the semifinals of the WTA 125 event in Ljubljana, Slovenia, but lost 6-2 4-6 1-6.
