Marie Bouzkova hailed Sonay Kartal as "incredible" after the Briton put up a tough fight in the Billie Jean King Cup.

Bouzkova beat Kartal 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-4 in a fierce battle on Tuesday.

That triumph ensured Czechia beat Great Britain 2-0 to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.

Kartal was featuring in her first competitive match in six months. She has been out due to a spinal stress fracture.

And though she pushed world number 26 Bouzkova all the way, Kartal eventually fell short.

"I think she played incredible," Bouzkova said of Kartal.

"I think not playing for half a year and coming out the way she did, yeah, huge respect for her."

The Czechs are on a mission and their fans are out in force

One step closer to becoming 12-time World Champions #BJKCup pic.twitter.com/dFMlK5CMFN

— Billie Jean King Cup (@BJKCup) September 22, 2026

Bouzkova knew a victory over Kartal would be enough to send 11-time champions Czechia through to the last four in Shenzhen, after Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova had earlier defeated Katie Boulter 6-2 7-6 (7-3).

"The first match is never easy, no matter what. So, I was surprised by the way that I played in the first set, especially," said Noskova.

"Obviously, [the] second set was a lot tougher. Katie served really well and didn't give me many chances, so I had to kind of use anything that I have in the tie-break, and that worked."

Spain and Kazakhstan are in action on Wednesday, with Ukraine taking on Belgium on Thursday, before hosts China face reigning champions Italy.