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