DART ATTACK
Late win for Harriet avoids GB wipeout
It was the 11th hour at the australian Open, and Harriet Dart was the last line of defence to prevent a wipeout of British players who had begun the second day. a qualifier ranked 164 in the world of slender build but sturdy heart, she was not quite such a reassuring sight as, say, andy Murray in his pomp going down the stretch at wimbledon.
But prevail she did against a more seasoned opponent in a sudden death ‘champions’ tiebreak which finished at 10.59pm to prevent a 0-5 scoreline for the British contingent in action.
Her 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 win over world No 80 Misaki Doi now gains her the priceless experience of a match against reigning sw19 champion simona Halep, a year on from getting thumped 6-0, 6-0 here by Maria sharapova.
that she has overcome such a painful memory tells you of Dart’s sheer pluck, the kind that saw her fight her way to the third round of wimbledon last year.
while Dan Evans and Heather watson were due to play overnight, she set a fine example to her better established compatriots — Jo Konta, Kyle Edmund, Katie Boulter and Cam Norrie — who had earlier gone down in a variety of ways.
she also, doubtless, brought a sigh of relief from the assorted ranks of support staff present from the Lawn tennis association, who on the evidence of day two had been staring at a fairly dismal return on the investment of their long journeys.
Dart, 23, appears to be made of the right stuff. Many others would have stewed to the point of self-destruction after wasting two match points at 6-5 in the decider. Fewer still would have recovered from 1-5 in the sudden death shootout, which she was to win 10-6.
‘I’m really proud of the way I stayed self-composed,’ she said, having had to check with the umpire how many points they were playing to in the tiebreak.
Dart will now face a much harder task. ‘she (Halep) is a great champion and it’s an opportunity to see what level I’m at. Playing in the Grand slams is still new to me, I’m probably more of a late bloomer,’ she said.
almost everything about her game suggests she belongs in the top 100, where she would probably be already were it not for her second serve, which Halep will notice pops up somewhat invitingly. Her victory came more than 12 hours after Konta had stepped on court to suffer the worst loss of the day for players from the UK on what is referred to in these parts as the Old Dart. the GB No 1 was surprisingly phlegmatic after her first lost in the opening round, putting her 6-4, 6-2 upset against tunisia’s Ons Jabeur down to her lack of match play after suffering knee tendinitis.
she restricted her workload even after arriving in australia, and the injury has lingered long enough for it to be a concern.
‘I think ultimately the main thing was to start playing again, and I am. and how I physically felt out there is a massive tick for me compared to where I was in september of last year,’ she said, searching for a positive spin.
Despite the lack of matches, she still plans to miss the Fed Cup for GB next month but may play the wta event in st Petersburg the same week, which would not be a good look.
Resuming from 5-2 up, Edmund should have taken the first set and had a point for it in the tiebreak before losing 7-6, 6-3, 7-6 to Dusan Lajovic, the No 24 seed.
He had to put up with some sledging from serbian supporters which drew tut-tuts from the more buttoned-up Brits in the crowd. ‘Hey Kyle, book a flight home,’ was among the shouts. English cricketers have been subjected to worse in these parts, and it was not a factor. Boulter, in the early stages of returning from serious back problems, did not disgrace herself against world No 5 Elina svitolina, making her work hard for a 6-4, 7-5 win. Like Dart, Norrie was on the late shift, and he failed to close out Frenchman Pierre Hugues Herbert, falling to a painful 7-5, 3-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 defeat.