Britain's Harriet Dart, 30, won the first WTA Tour singles title of her career by beating Austria's 18-year-old Lilli Tagger 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the Guangzhou Open final. Dart, ranked 115th, came through qualifying and recovered from a set down for the fourth time in seven matches this week, twice having a lead in the decider erased before breaking for 4-3 and holding to move within one game of the title. In the ninth game Dart held two championship points on Tagger's serve, missed on the second with a mid-court error, then converted her third championship point with a service winner and fell to the court in celebration. The victory caps a strong second half of the season for Dart, who has won 19 of 24 tour-level hard-court matches since Wimbledon and has a 23-11 WTA record this year. Working with former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has been cited as a major factor in Dart's resurgence. As well as the trophy, Dart will move back inside the world's top 100 and earn direct entry into the Australian Open main draw in January.
