Harriet Dart exits Wimbledon after letting lead slip against Wang Xinyu

Harriet Dart took full responsibility for her loss against Wang Xinyu, admitting that she was the one to blame. Despite Wang being ranked much higher than her, the British player felt that she had beaten herself more than her opponent had beaten her. Dart had the lead in all three sets and even held a 3-0 advantage in the third set before losing six consecutive games and ultimately the match 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Dart has been aiming to reach the second week of a major tournament all year, and this loss will sting even more because she was very close to achieving it. Dart expressed her disappointment, saying, "It's really tough to be winning in two sets and still end up losing. I had many chances, but I couldn't capitalize on them... I don't think I will be able to sleep comfortably tonight."

During the game, she showed more emotion than skill in her shots. When she hit the ball into the net, she bent over in pain. After returning to her chair, she angrily hit her bag with her racket. When asked about what happened, Dart confessed that she was still unsure. She said, "Everything fell apart. It was the same in the second set. I was winning 3-1 and then got broken. It was just a mess."

Following her tense three-set match against Katie Boulter, Dart's emotions are taking on a life of their own. Despite this, throughout most of the game she seemed more self-assured than her Chinese rival, delivering a stronger performance than when she defeated Boulter on Thursday. With a fluid and confident playing style, she effortlessly hit smooth backhand shots across the court, leaving Wang unable to keep up. It was as if her racket was laughing as it passed by Wang's.

The two players had a hard time hitting the ball properly at first on a windy No. 2 Court. Some of Wang's hits were so off that they almost hit satellites. But Dart started getting used to the conditions and was winning 3-1 in the first set when the unpredictable weather forced them to stop play.

After the players exited the court, light rain gradually cleared up and was replaced by a bright sunshine that was so strong that the spectators decided to remain seated, putting on sunglasses and sun cream in hopeful anticipation of the sunny weather.

Ultimately, a relentless cloud caused the players to stay in the locker room for over an hour. Dart continued her strong performance after the break and won the first set.

Wang appeared to be struggling to find solutions, except for her accurate line calls - a series of bold challenges kept her competitive in the game. But by the middle of the second set, the 22-year-old started displaying the resilience that allowed her to defeat the fifth seed, Jessica Pegula, and reach this point.

When Wang started challenging Dart's hesitant second serve, the British player started to display her anxiety. With a score of 5-4, Dart was so close to winning when she made a simple mistake with a volley. Her mistakes ended up costing her the following game, and Wang fought fiercely to push the match into a final set.

In the third set, Dart started strong by hitting beautiful groundstrokes that landed perfectly on both sides of the court. However, during a crucial moment in the final set with the score at 30-15, Dart's slow second serve gave Wang an opportunity to regain control. Despite fighting off two break points, Dart unfortunately hit a winning shot that went straight into the net.

Afterward, she gave Wang the opportunity to get back into the game with an all-access pass. Mistakes in serves, unsuccessful challenges, and poorly hit backhands showed Dart's mental state as she missed out on a major opportunity. It has been five years since she reached this stage in a grand slam tournament - last time was in 2019 when she faced the world's top player Ash Barty.

Dart still has the mixed doubles competition to participate in, but she understands that she needs to take away some valuable lessons on managing pressure from this match. She mentioned, "After this tournament ends for me, I will probably take some time to reflect. At the moment, the defeat is still fresh and it's hitting me hard. I feel let down by my performance."