West Hampstead local beaten in first round by former world number one

West Hampstead’s Harriet Dart slipped to a battling first-round Wimbledon defeat to Karolina Pliskova as the Czech seventh seed sealed a 7-6 (7/2) 2-6 6-1 victory.

Dart, 21, shook off a nasty-looking leg injury to claim the second set in style and force her clash with the world number eight into a decider.

But after failing to convert three break points at the top of the final set, Dart handed all the momentum back to her seasoned opponent.

And after that Pliskova hit cruise control to coast into the second round at SW19.

Dart has hit a career-high world ranking of 171 this summer, and showed extended bursts of her potential on her Wimbledon main-draw debut.

But the Londoner’s injury — after a baseline slip — ultimately put paid to any hopes of a big early upset.

Dart will hope to learn from the experience and return to Wimbledon many more times in the years to come.