HSBC Championships 2025: Sonay Kartal bows out to Amanda Anisimova while second seed Madison Keys cruises to victory
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It was the end of the road for Britain's Sonay Kartal who bowed out in a second round defeat, while second seed Madison Keys made a statement start to her grass court campaign.
British No.3 Kartal who was beaten by eighth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-1, 6-3 in an hour and five minutes on the Andy Murray Arena.
Meanwhile, reigning Australian Open champion Keys, established herself as a force to be reckoned with in this tournament as she beat Anastasia Zakharova 6-3, 6-2.
Monday marked the second time in as many days that Anisimova beat a home favourite after she bypassed Jodie Burrage in the first round.
Following her victory over Kartal, Anisimova will now go on to face her countrywoman Emma Navarro in the quarter-finals after she came through a gruelling three-set match against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the first match of the day.
Despite the loss, Kartal's remaining hopeful for the rest of the grass court swing and now turns her focus to her home tournament at the Lexus Nottingham Open which begins next week.
Kartal reflected on her loss today, saying, “You just take it on the chin. The good thing about the grass is we are couple days and we're back at it again.
“Obviously it’s disappointing today, but tomorrow, we get back to training and get ready for the next one - it's lucky we can always have a tournament that it's so soon.
I’ve been training well, I'm feeling confident on the grass. Despite today, it's been a positive week and I can take a lot of confidence into next week.
After a shaky opening round match against Burrage, Anisimova looked a completely different player in her meeting against Kartal.
The American didn’t allow the Brit any time to settle as she raced to a double break lead in just 10 minutes.
The world No.15 was hitting her spots effortlessly in the opener - consistently pushing the ball deep into the baseline, which proved too much for the 22-year-old Brit to cope with as Anisimova convincingly took the first set.
Despite raising her level in the second, the British No.3 was unable to capitalise on her first serve – winning just 41% of points (16/39) across the match thanks to Anisimova’s aggressive returning that led her to break the Brit three times.
With a 5-3, 40-0 lead under her belt, the nerves began to creep in for Anisimova who mustered up untimely back-to-back double faults to allow Kartal an entryway back into the game. However, the American soon closed in on a spot in the quarter-finals as Kartal hit a backhand slice long.
Second seed Keys took a while to find her footing against qualifier Zakharova but once she did, there was no stopping her as she clocked her first victory at The Queen’s Club in just 68 minutes.
She could face a tough challenge in the form of British No.1 Katie Boulter in the quarter-finals should she be able to get past fifth seed Diana Shnaider tomorrow.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Keys said in her on-court interview. “It’s always tough to play your first match on the grass especially against someone who’s already won a few matches but overall, I’m pretty happy and happy I get another match here."
The world No.8 is well acquainted with the grass, having claimed two titles in Eastbourne (2023, 2014) and Birmingham (2016) and reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon on two occasions (2015, 2023).
Keys always manages to raise her level when the British summer swing rolls around and she’s got her eyes set on adding another grass court trophy to her haul this week.
“I’ve always loved playing on the grass have won a few titles on it, so I’d love to be able to add this to the list hopefully."
I’ve always been so jealous because I’ve watched the guys play here and they’ve always spoken about how amazing it is to play at Queen’s so to be here is absolutely amazing and so happy we have a women’s tournament here.
Playing in her first match on grass since last summer, it took a bit of time for Keys to find her rhythm as she quickly trailed the qualifier 3-1 in the opener.
However, the American soon began to ask the question of the world No.111 – going on to win the last five games in a row before capping off a one set lead with a hold to love.
With the momentum swinging in her favour, the reigning Australian Open champion picked up where she left off in the second – racing out to a 4-1 lead. While Keys dominated the return games, she was equally as impressive in her own service games where she won 73% of points (30/41) across the match.
Despite being on the backfoot, Zakharova refused to go down without a fight – threatening the comeback by recovering one of the breaks before the Grand Slam champion showed her class by seeing out the win on her second match point.
She now joins Anisimova and Navarro as one of three American women to reach the final eight in West London.
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