Harriet Dart is looking to return to the top 100 after beating fifth seed Elisabetta Cocciaretto to reach the quarter-finals of the Transylvania Open.
The 27-year-old advanced through qualifying and recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in Cluj-Napoca. This is the fifth time Dart has reached the quarterfinals of a WTA tour event, but it is also the first time she has been away from British grass. Her last such result was in Birmingham last summer.
Entering this week ranked 103rd, Dart is now almost certain to join Britain’s Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage in the top 100, having finished last year. There has been a decline. Dart took three set points 5-4 in the opening game, lost six games in a row, and seemed to be on the verge of being eliminated.
But she fought back to seize her third chance to win the second set and, despite taking a break from treatment due to a neck injury, held on to lead in the deciding set.
“I had some set points in the first set that I couldn’t convert, but I thought she played well on the key points,” Dutt said.
“The margins in tennis are so small. Even though the score was 3-0, the opportunity is always there and you just have to keep fighting. I got a little chance and I was able to take it. I just want to be in every match Building on the basics. It was great to play a lot of games here through the qualifiers and get used to the ground. I really enjoyed my time in Cluj.”
Dutt will compete for a semifinal spot against unseeded Spanish player Nuria Parisas Diaz.
Britain’s Heather Watson’s campaign at the Abu Dhabi Open ends in the last 16. Watson defeated world No. 16 Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (1), 7-5 in the previous round. Spanish lucky loser Cristina Bucsa.
