Harriet Dart defeat ends Great Britain’s hopes of reaching Billie Jean King Cup Finals
Harriet Dart sat dejected with a towel covering her face after her loss to Caroline Garcia ended any hopes of a British revival in the Billie Jean King Cup.
The image of Dart with her head in her hands summed up the effort the British team had exerted to push France in this qualifier, but they ultimately received no reward as they went 3-0 down with two to play.
Like her team-mate Katie Boulter on Friday, Dart saved multiple match points against Garcia, the world No 5, and took her to a deciding set, but this loss ended any hopes Britain had of reaching the tournament finals in November.
Starting on Saturday 2-0 down, only a win from Dart, 26, in the opening rubber could have kept Britain in it. But getting past reigning WTA Finals champion Garcia proved too tough an obstacle for Dart, and left the 2,000 spectators with what was essentially one exhibition rubber to watch, with the teams opting not to play the fourth singles.
Whereas Friday’s action was decided by five tie-breaks and “brutal” sporting margins, as GB captain Anne Keothavong put it, Saturday’s action began with a whimper. Dart, who has not won a main draw match at tour level since the United Cup in January, was swiftly put in her place by Garcia, who took 28 minutes to take the first set 6-1.
An off-court pep talk from Keothavong seemed to spur the British No 3 into action though, and the second set was more competitive, Dart injecting some intensity into her game. She fended off two match points and took the tie-break 12-10.
The energy was sapped out of her racket thereafter, and Garcia needed 27 minutes to take the third set and this qualifier 6-1, 6-7, 6-1.
The only consolation was that British doubles pair Olivia Nicholls and Alicia Barnett beat Kristina Mladenovic and Clara Burel 7-5, 3-6, 11-9 in the dead rubber, to make the final score 3-1.
“I’m proud of the players. They gave it their best against much higher ranked opponents and there were chances,” Keothavong said. “It’s not easy to drop the opening set. [Dart] lifted her game in that tie-break, she managed to hold her nerve better than Garcia. But if you allow your level to drop against an experienced pro like that, then it’s an uphill battle.”
Last season Britain lost at this stage of the competition but managed to qualify for the finals because the Lawn Tennis Association stepped in as host and went on to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 1981. This time they will need to battle through a play-off to avoid dropping into the regional Europe/Africa Group One.
The hope is that British No 1 Emma Raducanu, who begins her clay-court season in Stuttgart next week, will be available to play come November.
“I would like to think if she continues playing and is fit and healthy I see no reason why she wouldn’t be part of the team in November,” Keothavong said of Raducanu.
“But we’re still months away. And it’s not just Emma, it’s other players to consider as well. Whoever is the most fresh and healthy will be on the team.”
