Aryna Sabalenka received a code violation minutes into her fourth-round match in Indian Wells. The world No. 1 was facing Sonay Kartal, the third-ranked Brit who got into the draw as a lucky loser. Sabalenka had little knowledge of her opponent going into the contest and it showed – she was broken straight away.
After losing the first game, the top seed received a warning from the umpire for an audible obscenity. But she quickly regrouped to get back on serve.
Kartal had never competed in the main draw of a WTA 1000 event before this fortnight. After losing in the final round of qualifying, she made it in when Sloane Stephens pulled out, and she’s since made the most of her late entry.
The world No. 83 faced the biggest test of her career on Wednesday, meeting top seed and three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka.
While some players would get nervous facing a top player in one of the biggest tournaments, Kartal took it in her stride and got off to the best possible start, breaking Sabalenka in the first game.
The world No. 1 was clearly frustrated and immediately received a warning. “Sabalenka maybe just feeling a little bit rattled as well because she’s just picked up a code violation for an audible obscenity already,” Adam Fielder said on Sky Sports commentary.
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