Harriet Dart Beats Zhang Shuai To Reach Eastbourne International Last 16
Britain’s Harriet Dart recovered from a poor start and a mid-match dip to beat China’s Zhang Shuai and reach the last 16 of the Eastbourne International.
Dart, 26, trailed 3-0 but fought back to win 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 in blustery conditions against an opponent 105 places above her in the world rankings.
She will play either two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova or former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko.
“That was a rollercoaster and I’m happy to close it out,” said Dart.
“I was not just playing my opponent, but playing myself at times. The conditions were really tough, the wind was going everywhere and it took a while to adapt to it.”
Dart, 142nd in the world, reached the quarter-finals of the Nottingham Open and Birmingham Classic earlier this month to get a wildcard for Wimbledon and also for this week’s Eastbourne event.
Zhang, ranked 37th, moved into a 3-0 lead, but Dart won five of the next seven games, including saving three break points in the eighth game.
The decisive break for Dart came in the 11th game before she served out the opening set.
She was twice serving for the second set but had her serve broken at 5-4 and again at 6-5 before losing the tie-break.
Dart received a warning after hitting her racquet on the ground at the end of that tie-break, but quickly regained her composure as she swept through the decisive set.
There are three Britons in the women’s singles, with Jodie Burrage playing American Lauren Davis while British number one Katie Boulter faces Croatian lucky loser Petra Martic.
