Harriet Dart steps into breach in Nottingham reaching first quarter-final

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Delight for Harriet Dart

Britain’s Harriet Dart saved three match points to reach her first WTA quarter-final with a dramatic tie-break victory over Italian third seed Camila Giorgi at the Rothesay Open.

On another rain-affected day in Nottingham, Dart returned to court tied at one set all with the world number 26 having clawed level before play was suspended on Wednesday.

With a tense decider remaining on serve, the 25-year-old was on the brink of exiting the competition at 40-0 down in the 10th game but she dug in to eventually progress 5-7 6-4 7-6 (3) and claim a personal milestone.

Her reward for a gruelling victory, which took two hours and 34 minutes over the two days, is a last-eight meeting with sixth-seeded American Alison Riske, who overcame 2019 champion Caroline Garcia 6-4 7-5.

Earlier, fellow Briton Lily Miyazaki was defeated 6-2 7-6 (4) by Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, while top seed Maria Sakkari kept herself on course for the title after she came from a set down to beat Canadian Rebecca Marino 1-6 6-3 6-3.

In the men’s draw, British number five Liam Broady progressed to the last eight but there was disappointment for compatriot Jay Clarke.

Broady, ranked 144th in the world, recovered from losing the opening set to beat Finland’s Otto Virtanen 2-6 7-5 6-2, while Clarke lost 6-4 6-4 to Australian third seed Jordan Thompson.

Harriet Dart

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