Fresh from defeating her nemesis Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart faces Wang Xinyu in a third-round match at Wimbledon on Saturday, keen to continue her ongoing momentum.
Dart was successful in the all-British encounter on Thursday, and she aims to eliminate a second Chinese opponent after Wang's three-set triumph over America's Jessica Pegula in round two.
Match preview
© Reuters
A wretched 6-1 losing record against Boulter meant the British No. 1 seed was backed to triumph over Dart in their second-round match last time out, but the 27-year-old had other ideas.
Possibly fearing the worst after dropping the first set 6-4, Dart responded emphatically in the second and claimed a tight third 6-1 and 7-6 (8) respectively to edge into the third round for the second time on the lawns of Wimbledon.
Having not gone beyond the second round at her home Slam in the last three years, losing twice in the first round and reaching round two in 2022, the world No. 100 aims to outdo her 2019 feat on Saturday.
After overcoming her first-round opponent - Bai Zhuoxuan - fairly comfortably and needing to demonstrate resilience in the second, the unseeded British player ought to feel prepared for any game state on Saturday.
Now one more win from making the fourth round of a Slam for the first time, Dart hopes to benefit from the support to carry her through.
Xinyu will not be so accepting against her home opponent, keen to show why a chasm exists in the rankings with the Chinese 58 places ahead of the Briton.
After her second-round 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-1 win over Pegula, this year's run at the All England Club represents success for the 22-year-old, who had previously never made it to a third match at SW19, reaching the second round last year after a tournament-opening exit in 2021.
With Xinyu's best showing at a major coming at the 2023 US Open, the No. 42-ranked player aims to match that at the third Slam of the ongoing season.
She must overcome a partisan crowd to achieve that, and she will be prepared to go the distance again after needing three sets in rounds one and two to make it this far.
Tournament so far
Harriet Dart:
First round: vs. Bai Zhuoxuan 6-4 6-0
Second round: vs. Katie Boulter 4-6 6-1 7-6[8]
Wang Zinyu:
First round: vs. Viktoriya Tomova 7-6[4] 3-6 6-0
Second round: vs. Jessica Pegula 6-4 6-7[7] 6-1
Head To Head
Melbourne (2022) - Qualifying: Dart 1-6 7-6[5] 6-4
The only previous meeting between Dart and Xinyu came two years ago in a WTA 250 event in Melbourne, with the British player claiming a win in three sets.
Her Chinese opponent claimed the first set but lost out in the next two, possibly indicating little between both women, and it remains to be seen if much has changed since.
While the 22-year-old has claimed one doubles title in 2024 (her fourth in total), both players have been rather ropey on Tour this year, underlined by Dart claiming 19 wins from 38 before Wimbledon and Xinyu notching 17 victories in 33 matches preceding the third major of the year.
We say: Xinyu to win in three sets
There really is not much SW19 precedent to consider before both women battle on Saturday, given their prior underwhelming runs at Wimbledon.
However, the 22-year-old Chinese has had slightly deeper runs at Grand Slams, which could be enough to edge her home opponent in another three-setter to end the Briton's admirable run at the Championships.
