By Islam El-Sakka
British player Harriet Dart claimed her first WTA title on Sunday, rallying from a set down to defeat Austrian qualifier Lilli Tagger 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Guangzhou Open final in China.
Match details
The 30-year-old from Hampstead, ranked British number five, dropped serve in the opening game and faced a break point early before breaking back to level at 4-4 in the first set. Tagger took the set 6-4. Dart seized the first break point of the second set to lead 5-3 and forced a decider. In a tense final set featuring five consecutive service breaks, Dart saved two break points to hold for 5-3 and served out the match to love after converting her second championship point.
Semi-final escape
Dart reached her first tour-level final after saving three match points in her semi-final victory over China's Sun Xinran.
Ranking boost
The victory propels Dart back into the top 100 of the WTA rankings.
“I’ll try not to get too emotional. A big thank you to my team this week,” Dart said on court. “It’s amazing to play in front of such a big crowd. It’s been so much fun here and I really appreciate it and hope to be back next year.”
