“It’s always hard to pick yourself up for the week straight after, but I was happy with my game this week and I was very consistent. I played some of my best tennis in the final,” said Kartal.
“These two wins mean I will break into the top 300. I was around 800 at the start of the year and my goal was to get into the top 500 and I achieved that. Then I wanted top 300 and I’m happy to get there so quickly.
“Hopefully I can get a full grass court season in this year and I’m looking forward to what is ahead in the next few weeks.”
The British success continued in the ITF M25 event, as Billy Harris won the title in his home city with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Israel’s Edan Leshem in the final.
“This is my first M25 title and it was great to do it here,” said 27-year-old Harris. “I was born down the road, so I had lots of friends and family here to watch this and it was great. It is always good to have people on the sidelines giving you a bit of support.”
