WIMBLEDON STAR'S MUM INTERRUPTS PRESS CONFERENCE TWICE AFTER BIG UPSET

British tennis star Sonay Kartal was speaking to the Wimbledon media fresh off her 6-3 5-7 6-3 victory over Clara Burel to reach the round when her mum interrupted the press conference not once, but twice.

The world No. 298 had made her second big upset of the tournament, defeating two top-55 players and becoming a firm favourite with the home fans.

But while she was analysing her game a phone rang that belonged to Kartal, with her mum on the other end of the line. The 22-year-old asked the moderator to turn the phone off, only to be informed that her mum was trying to get in touch.

She resumed answering questions, only for her mum to call back again and Kartal then joked that the phone should be put on silent for the remainder of the conference.

The questioning then promptly switched to her parents, to which Kartal shone a light on them and their family: "Yeah, I mean, they've dedicated their life for me to try and achieve a dream. I was pretty sporty as a kid, was doing football and cricket as well. They're the most relaxed parents you'll probably ever meet.

"They never pushed me into doing anything, or even a sport. They just let me decide to do what I loved to do. As long as I gave it my best, they were going to back that 100 per cent. Yeah, they kind of lurk in the background a little bit and support me behind the scenes."

Kartal has set up a blockbuster third-round clash with one of the tournament's favourites, Coco Gauff, after already bagging a whopping £143,000 which could even increase to £226k if she beats the American in a clash likely to be on Centre Court.

"Those are the moments you dream of as a little kid," she explained. "If it is Centre Court, yeah, I'll be super excited, super proud to be on that court. It's a really special thing.

"Yeah, obviously it's going to be a tough match. I think that if I can continue my form, I'll give myself a good chance."

And having won her first two professional matches at Wimbledon this year, Kartal knows that the cash prize will do wonders to support her promising career.

"Yeah, I think it's going to help me for a little while. It will propel me into playing the bigger tournaments and be on the bigger stage, which is what I want to be doing at the end of the day. Yeah, obviously it takes a little bit of stress away knowing that financially it will be okay."

2024-07-03T17:06:54Z dg43tfdfdgfd