• Heather Watson registers win before Dart loses decider
Harriet Dart will depart from Bratislava with her head high, her shoulders straight and the belief that she can truly cut it at top 100 level after two competitive matches against excellent clay-courters on a completely unfamiliar surface. An admirable weekend from the rookie and a solid recovery from Heather Watson were ultimately insufficient, though, as Slovakia triumphed 3-1 defeat against Great Britain in the Fed Cup Qualifier in Bratislava. After Watson pulled one win back against Rebecca Sramkova, Dart lost the decisive rubber 7-5 6-3 to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.
The day started with a surprise as Slovakia’s No 1, Viktoria Kuzmova, was forced to withdraw from her match against Watson just an hour before play began. Although Dart was unable to secure victory in her debut Fed Cup singles rubber against the world No 65, she clearly left her mark. Kuzmova had arrived in the competition slightly under the weather and Dart’s two hours, 55 minutes of grit on Friday pushed the Slovak over the edge.
Written by Tumaini Carayol
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/08/gb-slovakia-fed-cup-qualifier under the title “Harriet Dart succumbs to Slovaks as GB meet defeat in Fed Cup qualifier”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
