Harriet Dart used her royal support to good effect to record her first ever victory at Wimbledon.
The Duchess of Cambridge made a rare visit to one of the All England Club’s outside courts to watch British number four Dart take on American lucky loser Christina McHale.
Sat between British player Katie Boulter, who is missing the tournament through injury, and Fed Cup captain Anne Keothavong, the Duchess cheered on Dart, although she had left by the time the 22-year-old battled to a 4-6 6-4 6-4 victory after two hours and 19 minutes.
Dart, ranked 182, pushed Karolina Pliskova to three sets on her Wimbledon debut last year and had chances in the first set before being broken in the final game.
Holding serve proved tough for both women, particularly in the third set, but Dart broke a run of seven straight breaks to clinch victory and a second-round clash with either former champion Garbine Muguruza or Beatriz Haddad Maia.
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