Dart wins our hearts as the Brits march on
SCRAPING into Wimbledon as a wildcard, she had never been further than the first round of a Grand Slam tournament.
But British hopeful Harriet Dart yesterday led the charge for glory of homegrown players as she battled through to reach the third round.
The privately-educated 22-year-old has guaranteed herself at least £111,000 prize money – boosting her career earnings by a huge margin.
The world number 121, whose first round match was watched by the Duchess of Cambridge, is now set to take on Ash Barty, the top-ranking global player.
Dart’s success was followed by those of former tennis bad boy Dan Evans and British number one Johanna Konta, who both cruised comfortably into the third round. All three are now guaranteed £111,000. Dart’s career
‘I may now buy £1,600 handbag’
earnings previously were just over £270,000.
The Londoner, whose mother is a teacher and father a surveyor, admitted she might now treat herself to a luxury Celine handbag, which can cost up to £1,600.
The prize money should also provide comfort after she missed out on her £1,750 first-round fee in the mixed doubles with fellow Briton Jay Clarke.
The 20-year-old from Derby messaged her on Monday night to tell her he would be pairing up with America’s teenage sensation Coco Gauff at Wimbledon instead.
The Brit duo had previously netted £58,000 after making it to the semifinals last year.
British number two Evans, 29, broke down in tears on court yesterday.
In 2017, he was given a one-year ban after testing positive for cocaine and missed two Wimbledons because organisers would not grant him a wildcard.
After the match, he told the BBC: ‘I felt that [being] out there to try and get over the line was... I was pretty nervous, it probably showed.’ Meanwhile, Konta – the UK’s most likely hope of singles triumph – produced a dominant display in front of Centre Court crowds.
The 28-year-old, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals two years ago, needed just one hour, 12 minutes to beat the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova.
She said: ‘I’m pleased to come through that and really enjoyed my time on Centre Court.’ She will play American Sloane Stephens in the third round. However, not all British hopefuls were successful, with Cameron Norrie losing in straight sets to Kei Nishikori.
Clarke was also defeated in straight sets by 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.