Harriet Dart crashes out of Wimbledon as Brits get off to losing start

Harriet Dart has become the first British star to exit from this year’s Wimbledon after a disappointing collapse against France’s Diane Parry.

With six Brits in action on the first day of the tournament, all eyes were on Dart early on to see whether she could get them off and running.

The 26-year-old enjoyed a decent grasscourt season in the build-up to Wimbledon, particularly in Nottingham and Birmingham.

Her first-round opponent at Wimbledon is more of a clay specialist, opening up the opportunity for Dart to reach the second round of Wimbledon for just the third time in her career.

But she got off to a shaky start against the 20-year-old, going down a double break to start the first set.

Dart was then able to recompose herself to immediately break back and move to within one game of her opponent.

She capitalised on her superiority at the net to soon put even more pressure on Parry.

And the British No 4 was able to bring the first set level and win the tiebreak to put one foot into the second round.

However, that momentum dissipated in the second set as she ended up winning just 17 per cent of her points on second serve.

Don’t miss…
Novak Djokovic vs Pedro Cachin LIVE – Wimbledon champion kicks off defence[LATEST]
Wimbledon make Roger Federer announcement as special ceremony planned[LATEST]
Raducanu having ‘difficult time’ while missing Wimbledon as light shed on return[LATEST]

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

Nothing was working for the Brit and she appeared to give up midway through the set before being bagelled.

That second set collapse was soon forgotten at the start of the third and deciding set when she managed to break immediately.

But that advantage disappeared immediately as Parry refused to back down before going on to win three consecutive games to take control once more.

The back-and-forth continued though as Dart rallied back once more to bring the third set level.

Neither player was blinking as Parry held to go 4-3 up before Dart won four points in a row to square things up once again.

The onus was then put back on the Brit as Parry comfortably held again to leave Dart serving to stay in the championships. Parry quickly raced into a lead to have two match points before Dart managed to get rid of one. But the Brit was unable to survive and crashed out of the tournament at the first hurdle after a wayward shot.

Source: Read Full Article