
Harriet Dart has reached the third round of Wimbledon for the second time in her career with a 4-6 6-1 7-6 (10-8) win over British rival Katie Boulter.
Darts was left in tears at the back of the court when he was down 6-2 in the deciding tiebreak, but he came away with a 4-6 6-1 7-6 (10-8) win after a tense 2-hour and 56-minute session on Court 1.
It was a completely deserved win for Dart and one of the biggest wins of her career. The 27-year-old is now a Chinese WangsinwiShe defeated fifth seed Jessica Pegula in the last 32.
“I always felt like it was going to be a really tough fight. I show my emotions so unfortunately you can see everything I'm thinking. I'm glad I was able to pull through and I really appreciate the support,” Dart said.
“I was pushed back in the tiebreak, but I fought with the mindset of 'I'll give it my all and not regret anything,' and I was able to win.
“I haven't played on Court 1 since I played mixed doubles here, so it's nice to get my first big win in front of a crowd.”
There has been some tension between the pair since their recent match in Bolter and Darts, but here the pair embraced in front of the goal as they conceded their fierce battle.
But it will be a very disappointing result for England's No. 1 Bolton, who committed 75 own errors and struggled to find his rhythm throughout the game.
Britain is all but certain to have three women in the third round of Wimbledon for the first time in 40 years, with the winner joining Emma Raducanu and Sonai Kartal.
Bolter had been in excellent form over the past 13 months, winning six of his seven matches against darts, so there was reason to be confident he would get the job.
But the last match was a very close three-setter in Nottingham last month, and it was clear that both players were extremely nervous from the start until they stepped onto Court 1.
Bolter was more composed in the first set, rescuing three break points in a long fourth game before seizing his chances in the next.
Darts struggled with seven double faults, but both women made plenty of mistakes.
While Bolter was completely lost at the start of the second set, scattering balls everywhere and not being able to serve once, Darts found some rhythm.
Bolter, who hit three winners in the second set, committed 16 errors, but left the court to use the bathroom and showed improvement as the final began.
Things might have been different if she had made any of her three break points from 2-1, but Darts held on and finally took the sixth chance in a rollercoaster fourth game.
It had been more than six years since Darts had beaten Bolter, but Darts had managed to mix up his strategy and absorb his rival's power, and Bolter was still hitting too many shots over the baseline.
Bolter again lost a break point at 2-4, but the 32nd seed eventually held on and took advantage of her slow second serve, a major weakness in darts, to re-level the match.
Darts continued to look like the better player, and another break point came and went. She won just four of 18 throughout the match, but Bolter forced a decisive tiebreak.
Darts looked increasingly frustrated and emotional, and was seen in tears at the back of the court as Bolter went ahead 6-2.
But her despair came too soon. Bolter missed his timing again, and Darts levelled the score before Bolter's final return flew wide, sending his racket crashing to the grass in disbelief.
Miyazaki suffers the dreaded double bagel
Wild card Lily Miyazaki was left with just 19 points as she suffered a surprise straight sets defeat to world number 12 Daria Kasatkina at the start of a huge day of British tennis at Wimbledon.
The Tokyo-born player more than doubled her prize money this year by comfortably beating Germany's Tamara Korpacz to reach the second round of the Championship for the first time, taking home £93,000.
But Eastbourne champion Kasatkina proved one step too far and was crushed 6-0 6-0 after 50 minutes.
Miyazaki, ranked 148th in the world, had to wait until Wednesday for his last moment in the spotlight after rain forced the match to be postponed by a day.
A breakthrough win always seemed like a huge challenge for the 28-year-old, and she started nervously with a double fault, losing her first 10 points.
She quickly found herself in elimination mode, going from 5-0 down to 30-0 ahead on Kasatkina's serve, before dropping the first set to her Russian opponent in just 20 minutes.
Kasatkina, who reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2018, further demonstrated her prowess on grass courts last week by winning the Rhodessey International at Devonshire Park.
The 27-year-old looked dominant as she marched mercilessly into the third round, hardly letting up.
Miyazaki finally had a chance to avoid a double bagel in the third game of the second set, but ended up missing the opportunity with a double fault as the one-sided match came to a close.
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