FILE PHOTO: Tennis - China Open - National Tennis Center, Beijing, China - October 3, 2026 Britain's Harriet Dart in action during her round of 64 match against Iva Jovic of the U.S. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tennis - China Open - National Tennis Center, Beijing, China - October 3, 2026 Britain's Harriet Dart in action during her round of 64 match against Iva Jovic of the U.S. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
Nov 1 : Harriet Dart clinched the first WTA tour singles title of her career after battling back to beat Austrian Lilli Tagger 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the Guangzhou Open final on Sunday.
• The British number five, ranked 115th in the world and coached by former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli, overcame a sluggish start after being broken in the opening game
• Dart recovered to draw level at 4-4 in the first set but Tagger immediately broke again and served out the opener
• The first break point of the second set went to Dart, who took it for 5-3 and then levelled the match, setting up a deciding set
• In the final set, momentum swung repeatedly as the pair traded five consecutive breaks of serve. Dart finally steadied by saving two break points to hold for 5-3 and closed out the match to secure the title
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