Turkiye’s Sonmez storms into Australian Open 2026 third round

Zeynep Sonmez wins successful consecutive sets to participate the 3rd circular of a Grand Slam for the 2nd clip successful six months.

Amid deafening cheers and a oversea of reddish flags, Turkiye’s Zeynep Sonmez has entered the 3rd circular of the Australian Open by defeating Anna Bondar successful consecutive sets successful the archetypal tennis Grand Slam of the year.

Playing astatine 1 of the smaller amusement courts astatine Melbourne Park, the satellite fig 112 wrapped up the 6-2, 6-4 triumph successful 90 minutes connected Wednesday.

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Sonmez, who became the archetypal Turkish subordinate to participate the 3rd circular of a Grand Slam astatine Wimbledon past year, soaked successful the applause of a partisan assemblage that relentlessly chanted her sanction connected tribunal fig 7.

The 23-year-old from Istanbul stunned 11th effect Ekaterina Alexandrova successful her opening lucifer to go the archetypal pistillate from her state to scope the 2nd circular successful Melbourne.

“I truly appreciated determination were galore Turkish people, and I felt similar I was astatine home,” she said aft her flag-waving compatriots roared her to a ascendant triumph implicit 74th-ranked Bondar.

“In the opening I was a spot tense and past I deliberation I got utilized to it.”

She added:. “I felt precise bully connected the court. I truly felt the enactment and I felt similar we were each playing together, actually.”

Sonmez volition look a pugnacious situation successful the adjacent round, wherever she faces Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, who is ranked 94th successful the world.

But the Turkish assemblage favourite tin expect much enactment arsenic she progresses further and admitted the enactment successful Australia was amended than thing she’d experienced before.

“At Wimbledon besides determination were galore radical and my archetypal circular here, too, determination were galore people,” she said.

“But contiguous was… I person ne'er experienced thing similar this.”

The Turkish fans were truthful large that she “couldn’t adjacent perceive my ain thoughts”, said Sonmez, who captured the lone WTA rubric of her vocation successful Mexico successful 2024.

Knowing her compatriots were watching successful the aboriginal hours backmost location connected tv besides spurred her on.

“I cognize they’re supporting me. I cognize they’re watching me. It was, like, 3:00 am, and I cognize that determination were galore radical who conscionable woke up to ticker me.”

Earlier connected Sunday, Sonmez won hearts by rushing to the assistance of a ⁠ball miss who had fainted successful the punishing ​Melbourne heat.