Great Britain’s Harriet Dart reached the WTA 250 quarter-final at the Transylvania Open on Wednesday after upsetting 5th seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto, and is now set to return to the Top 100 when the new rankings are published on Monday.
I had some set points in the first set, wasn’t able to convert, but I thought she played good on the big points. It’s such small margins in tennis. Even though it was 3-0, there’s always a chance and you just have to keep fighting. I got a small bit of a chance and I was able to take it. I’m just trying to build on each match. It’s been great to get lots of matches through the qualifying here, get used to the surface. I’m really enjoying my time in Cluj. Harriet Dart
Also coming through to the Last 8 were Sara Errani, who took down the No 2 seed, Tatjana Maria, and Anastastajia Sevastova, advancing after 6th-seeded Elina Avanesyan retired mid-match, injured, alongside home favourite Jaqueline Cristian and Karolina Pliskova.
27-year-old Dart, who came through 2 rounds of qualifying, recovered from a set and 3-0 down to claim a 5-7 7-5 6-3 over Cocciaretto after 2 hours and 38 minutes on court.
It is the 5th time Dart has made the Last 8 at a WTA Tour event, but this is her first away from British grass, with her last such run coming in Birmingham last summer.
Having come into this week ranked 103, Dart is now certain of joining fellow Brits in the Top 100 at, at least, No 99, with Katie Boulter ranked No 48, and Jodie Burrage at 88, but, if she can go on to win the title, she would rise to around the 70 mark.
Dart’s career-high ranking of 84 came in July 2022, but she dropped down as low as 161 in September last year after a run of inconsistent results.
Facing her toughest test of the week so far, Dart battled back from a set down to beat the Italian World No 56, giving her a great opportunity to reach her first WTA semi-final if she can get past the tenacious Nuria Párrizas-Díaz, ranked 132 from Spain, on Friday.
The British No 3 looked to be heading for the exit door when she failed to convert any of her 3 set points at 5-4 in the opener, and then lost 6 games in a row, but she clawed her way back, taking her 3rd chance to win the second set, and then keeping her nose in front in the decider, despite an injury time-out for treatment to her neck.
“I had some set points in the first set, wasn’t able to convert, but I thought she played good on the big points,” said Dart. “It’s such small margins in tennis. Even though it was 3-0, there’s always a chance and you just have to keep fighting.
“I got a small bit of a chance and I was able to take it. I’m just trying to build on each match. It’s been great to get lots of matches through the qualifying here, get used to the surface. I’m really enjoying my time in Cluj.”
Sara Errani took down Tatiana Maria, the 2nd seed, in 61 minutes to set up a Last 8 contest with Karolina Pliskova
Transylvania Open/Facebook
Meanwhile, Italy’s Sara Errani made short work of No 2 seed Tatjana Maria, 6-0 6-1, and has lost just 14 games to the German in their 5 career meetings.
The Italian former World No 1 doubles player maintained her dominance to reach her first indoor hard-court singles quarter-final since making the 2014 Paris final.
She saved the only break point she faced, and converted 5 of her 7 break chances in the 61-minute match.
Errani will next face another former major finalist, Karolina Pliskova, after the Czech breezed through, 6-2 6-1, against Colombian Camila Osorio in just 56 minutes.
In her 3rd tournament back from maternity leave, Anastasija Sevastova from Latvia advanced to her first tour-level quarter-final since Eastbourne 2021 when No 6 seed Elina Avanesyan from Russia was forced to retire trailing 6-2 6-7(5), 2-0 due to a lower back injury.
The two players had contested a wild second set, in which Avanesyan had trailed 3-1 and saved 5 match points when Sevastova served at 6-5.
The wildest moment was undoubtedly when 33-year-old Sevastova saved a first set-point at 4-5 down.
She started with an under-arm serve that caught Avanesyan off guard, threw up a trio of high lobs, and switched up play with one of her signature drop-shots, finishing off with a dead net-cord that just dribbled onto the Russian’s side of the court.
In the Last 8, the former World No 11 will play home hope Jaqueline Cristian, who romped past Denmark’s Clara Tauson, 6-4 6-0, in an hour and 21 minutes.
Anastastajia Sevastova pulled off the rally of the week to turn things around against 6th-seeded Elina Avanesyan, who retired injured in the decider
Transylvania Open/Facebook
Later in the day, Dart returned to the match court with her Slovakian partner Tereza Mihalikova to take out the top-seeded doubles pair of Eri Hozumi & Makoto Ninomiya from Japan, 2-6 6-3 [10-2], to reach the quarter-finals, where they will meet Britain’s Olivia Nicholls & Elixane Lechemia from France, who upset the 4th-seeds, Hungarian Anna Bondar & Kimberley Zimmermann from Belgium, 6-3 3-6 [10-6].
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