Dart sees off Boulter in epic battle of the Brits on No.1 Court

By Charlie Stong on No.1 Court

Harriet Dart (GBR, 100) bt Katie Boulter (GBR, 29) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8)

 

World number 100 Harriet Dart produced one of the performances of her life to come from a set down to beat fellow Brit Katie Boulter in an epic No.1 Court showdown which lasted just under three hours.

Dart won 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 in 2hrs 56mins, taking the deciding tie-break by 10 points to eight in what was her first career win on a stadium court anywhere in the world.

It was an extraordinary match in which both players seemed to be feeling the heat of an all-British affair by serving up an incredible 110 unforced errors between them.

But while it may have lacked quality, it had drama in abundance.

Boulter’s head-to-head advantage was 6-1 going into this match, and it was the British No.1 who took the first set. Dart hit long on break-point at 2-2, handing Boulter the advantage.

Boulter never looked like losing her serve in the first set and brought up set point with a fine crosscourt forehand before Dart hit a forehand wide.

But Dart raced into a 4-0 lead in the second set, as her renewed energy seemed to rattle Boulter. 

Her first break was secured when Boulter hit an unforced error on her forehand side before double faults and more errors from the Boulter racket brought up break point at 0-3, Dart taking the 4-0 lead with a superb forehand down the line.

Boulter broke back but the two-break advantage was immediately restored at 5-1 as more double faults and simple errors blighted Boulter. Dart finished the set off with an unreturnable serve to level matters.

Dart made the first move in the third set. Boulter saved four break points but another unforced error – this time a long forehand – gave Dart the break at 3-2.

But a fabulous forehand down the line helped Boulter break back at 4-4, before the match was taken the distance.

Boulter’s superior world ranking seemed to be taking her to victory, racing to a 6-2 lead in the first-to-10-point final set tie-break, but Dart showed great guts to fight back and take the lead at 8-7.

And while Boulter managed to win the point off the longest rally of the match to make it 8-8, she then hit two simple forehands long to hand Dart the victory.

Afterwards, Dart said: “ I knew it was going to be tough. I wear my emotions on my sleeve so you see everything I am thinking, but thank you so much for the support.

“My head-to-head is woeful against her, so I wasn’t expecting too much. I was thinking in that tie-break ‘just give it everything’, and that’s what I did.

“It was nice to get my first big win on a stadium court.”

Pictured top: Action from No.1 Court today (Picture: Charlie Stong)