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Britain's Harriet Dart upsets former world No 3 Elina Svitolina at Indian Wells to reach third round for first time

Harriet Dart came from a set down to beat former world No 3 Elina Svitolina 2-6 6-3 6-3 at the BNP Paribas Open; Dart will face Kaia Kanepi in the third round; Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray also make winning starts at Indiana Wells

Saturday 12 March 2022 12:28, UK

Harriet Dart
Image: Harriet Dart will face Estonia's Kaia Kanepi in the third round

Harriet Dart rallied from a set down at Indian Wells to defeat former world No 3 Elina Svitolina and progress to the third round for the first time in her career.

Dart was broken four times in the opening set by the 12th-seeded Ukrainian at the BNP Paribas before steading herself in the second.

The British No 3, ranked 122nd in the world, managed to break Svitolina three times consecutively to lead 5-3 then smashed a crucial ace to claim the set.

Dart rushed out to a 3-0 lead in the decider but Svitolina scraped back some points before the match - which took two hours and 17 minutes - finished 2-6 6-3 6-3 in the qualifier's favour.

Harriet Dart, of Britain, returns a shot against Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, at the BNP Paribas Open
Image: Dart returns a shot against Elina Svitolina

Kaia Kanepi will face Dart next after the Estonian needed just 81 minutes to upset 22nd seed Belinda Bencic 6-4 6-3.

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Liam Broady, meanwhile, failed to progress past the first round despite taking a set off Miomir Kecmanovic.

The Serbian has now won both his encounters against Broady following the 6-4 4-6 6-4 encounter in California on Friday.

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Raducanu makes superb start

Emma Raducanu of Britain reacts after winning a point against Danka Kovinic of Montenegro during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)
Image: Emma Raducanu defeated Caroline Garcia to make a winning start at Indian Wells

Emma Raducanu showed glimpses her US Open winning form to defeat Caroline Garcia in Indian Wells after shrugging off injury fears.

The teenager suffered a leg injury in a marathon match in Mexico two-and-a-half weeks ago and feared she would have to miss the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, one of the biggest tournaments on the WTA Tour.

But she passed a late fitness test to take her place in the main draw and the teenager made the most of her opportunity with an impressive performance to overcome world No 69 Garcia 6-1 3-6 6-1.

"I'm so happy to have just got my first win in the desert here and I hope to come back for many more years. I think the level of tennis was pretty high today so it means a lot to come through that because it could have gone either way," Raducanu said during her on-court interview.

Murray seals milestone 700th tour-level win

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Andy Murray claimed a milestone 700th career match win at Indian Wells on Friday after battling back to defeat Japan's Taro Daniel in their third meeting of the year

Andy Murray, meanwhile, showed all his famed fighting qualities as he shrugged off a nightmare first set to beat Taro Daniel and lift the Scot alongside Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in earning 700 tour-level victories.

The three-time Grand Slam winner, who has announced he will begin working with Ivan Lendl for a third time in the lead-up to Wimbledon, turned the tide after losing the first set to come through 1-6 6-2 6-4 in the first round.

Murray's major career milestone is a feat already achieved by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

"This was a target that I set for myself on the back end of last year," Murray said in an on-court interview. "It's a lot of wins obviously, and I'm very happy to get it here.

"Let's go for 800 now."