HARRIET DART broke down in tears after squandering a break lead in the deciding set of her Battle of Britain clash with Katie Boulter at Wimbledon.
The Londoner, 27, had led 4-2 in the crucial third set, but saw herself fall 5-4 behind after dropping her serve.
BBCHarriet Dart was in tears during the change of ends[/caption]
BBCThe Brit, 27, buried her head in her towel[/caption]
BBC The hometown hero also felt overwhelmed during the match tiebreak[/caption]
During the following change of ends, Dart buried her head in her towel and sobbed.
To her immense credit, she then regrouped to get up and held serve to stay in the contest, levelling at 5-5.
Boulter, 27, had taken the first 6-4, after both players struggled to find their best form.
Between they hit 10 double faults during the opening set, with seven coming off the racquet of Dart.
The Londoner regrouped brilliantly in the second set, taking it 6-1 to force a decider.
She continued to be the better player during the first half of the third set, racing into a 4-2 lead, even having a break point to go 5-2 in front.
At this point her level dropped, with Boulter winning three consecutive games to go 5-4 in front.
During the following changeover, Dart sobbed – but she managed to find her form again impressively.
Both players then exchanged holds, with Dart holding her nerve to take it to a match tiebreak to 10.
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