The Turk in the quarter-final

Zeynep Sönmez wasn’t really expected to reach this stage of the draw. The 24-year-old, the first Turkish player in history to break into the top 60, has put together a solid week in Rosmalen: a three-set win over Volynets, then a place in the quarterfinals after Potapova’s withdrawal, as the latter retired at 6-1 2-0 having visibly struggled on serve since the start of the week. The Turkish player comes in physically fresh, with only six sets played in the tournament.

Magda Linette is full of confidence after her clear-cut win over Pohánková this Thursday, 6-2 6-2 in under an hour, and her 5–4 grass record over the last 52 weeks shows a player who knows the surface better than people say. Her serve is holding up well, with 71.4% of service games won and a 49.1% second serve success rate that prevents her from offering too many chances on return.

But it’s precisely on those chances that Sönmez makes the difference. The Turkish player converts 54.8% of her break points compared with 46.5% for the Pole, and her 51.9% of pressure points won on return versus 43.8% for Linette outlines the profile of a player who knows how to seize the decisive moments on grass. The quick grass in Rosmalen naturally suits her game.