Britain’s Sonay Kartal continued her impressive comeback from long-term injury with a comfortable win over former Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini to reach the Wuhan Open quarter-finals.
Kartal, 24, missed more than six months with a stress fracture in her back, but has won five of her seven matches since returning to action.
The former world number 44 ruthlessly brushed aside Italian 15th seed Paolini 6-2 6-0 with a performance that further validated Kartal’s patient approach to recovering from the first serious injury of her career.
It was another statement performance from Karta following her straight-set win over ninth seed Belinda Bencic in the previous round.
“Against someone as good as Jasmine is, I knew I had to be solid from the start and not let up,” Kartal said.
“From my side, it was a pretty flawless performance.”
Kartal was riding the crest of a wave in the early part of the season, having broken into the world’s top 50, reached two WTA quarter-finals and recorded wins over top-class opponents.
