British tennis player Harriet Dart won a thrilling last 16 clash against the No 3 seed at the Nottingham Open with a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(3) win. The 25-year-old beat Camila Giorgi to progress to her first WTA quarter-final where she will face America's Alison Riske.
Both players split the first two sets on Wednesday before the match was called off for the day due to rain. After further delays on Thursday due to the poor weather, the players resumed what would turn into a highly contested set.
Dart was forced to save three match points as the match moved towards its conclusion but the Brit hung on to take the match into a tie-break. She then raised her level and committed fewer unforced errors than her opponent to seal a memorable win.
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After the match, she said: "I'm so happy that I just fought really hard and to be able to get the win to be in my first quarter-final and at home whilst saving match points is kind of a bit crazy.
"Being at home is is very special and to play in front of such a great crowd is awesome. It's always really nice vibes here and I always look forward to the grass court season. "
When asked how difficult it was to play the match over two days, she added: "The weather in the UK is unpredictable and we had to wait a very long time today. I think that was the toughest part, especially not knowing before how it was gonna turn out or how long it was going to be.
"But it's the same for both of us and you're both dealing with the same conditions and I'm just happy that I was able to get over the line, but honestly, it was such small margins."
