British tennis star Sonay Kartal was left ‘in a dark place’ after a shock career-first derailed her US Open hopes.Kartal was sent packing from Flushing Meadows following a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 first round defeat to No. 18 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia.Kartal’s US Open hopes were crushed at the opening hurdleGettyAlthough the Brazilian was in fine form having clubbed 27 winners, she was aided by the fact Kartal’s body let her down amid sweltering conditions in New York City.Kartal showed impressive fight to force a deciding set after she lost the opener, but deep in the second set she began to suffer agonising cramps across every inch of her body.Even Haddad Maia had her own issues with cramp, as her serve speed towards the end of the final set drastically dipped.The Brazilian even worked in an underarm serve during the last game of the contest as she battled through her muscles seizing up.But the 2024 US Open quarter-finalist managed to hold on for just long enough to oust Kartal, who won only 19 points in the entirety of the third set in comparison to her 54 across the first two sets.Speaking afterwards, Kartal detailed the physical and mental agony she endured to reach the finish line.What Sonay Kartal had to say about her US Open defeat“It’s frustrating,” Kartal said.“You can see her at the other end and she had a calf thing or a hamstring or something went. So it made it even tougher.“But I think at that point you’re just in so much pain, you go into the dark places to try and get through. “I wasn’t thinking about her or anything. I was just thinking: ‘I’m going to finish the match. I’m not going to call it quits.'”It was the Briton’s first time competing in the opening round at the US OpenGetty“I have never lost a match through cramp before ever.When quizzed on where she was suffering cramps, Kartal replied: “Where wasn’t I feeling it?“We had calves, we had quads, we had hamstrings, and we had the fingers on the tennis racquet. My body wasn’t letting me do anything.“You are in such pain you go to a little dark place and try and get through it. You feel pretty helpless on the court.“My body didn’t let me finish it how I would like to have finished it.“I don’t feel like it was a heat thing or a nerve thing. We will have to analyse everything that I eat and drink and see if we can make some changes.”The Brazilian has progressed beyond the second round at the US Open just onceGettyAs for Haddad Maia, she too went to those same dark places that Kartal endured.But she was one to embrace the deep waters rather than fear them.Haddad Maia’s verdict on her US Open win“I love this sport,” Haddad Maia said on Sky Sports.“I am a person who really likes these tough battles.”She added: ““It is part of the sport. If you don’t like that, I don’t think you are going to last in the sport. You have got to love the fight.”Haddad Maia will now face Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic in the second round.As for Kartal, she joined fellow Brits Katie Boulter and Francesca Jones among those who were sent packing in the first round of the women’s singles.Emma Raducanu, who famously triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2021, was the only female Brit to progress.