Dart’s hopes of US Open breakthrough wilt under heat and Kostyuk’s fire

Harriet Dart’s hopes of breaking new ground at the US Open came to a bitter end in the oppressive New York heat when she lost 7-6 (10), 6-1 in the second round to 19th-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine.

Dart only reached the third round of a Grand Slam on home soil at Wimbledon and faced Kostyuk for her best result in New York. The 28-year-old has played some of the best tennis in recent weeks and has cemented herself inside the top 100 with a career-high ranking of 75. She began at Flushing Meadow with a dominant opening win over Chloé Paquet of France.

Conditions were stifling from the start, with the 34C heat feeling much worse both on and off the court. Both players struggled, with Kostyuk finding relief at the change of ends by placing bags of ice under each thigh and one on her head, while the portable air conditioner blew cold air into her face.

Dart was clearly the better player in the first set against a volatile Kostyuk who was clearly struggling to find her level. The more solid and controlled player in the exchanges, Dart took an early break and held it until she served for the set at 5-3. She then served for the set again at 6-5. In the tiebreak, the British then held a total of five set points, including three in a row at 6-3.

But while Dart can hold her own from the baseline with many of the elite with her defense, consistency, and her excellent ability to redirect the pace from both ends, her serve is such a glaring weakness at the highest level. In the decisive moments of the opening set, her first serve percentage crumbled and her second serves were flying over the net at about 65 miles per hour. After finally closing out the set, Kostyuk opened her shoulders, hit the ball with freedom, and marched into the third round.

After advancing to the third round when Alexander Shevchenko retired two sets down, Frances Tiafoe said he prepared for the heat by bringing 20 shirts and three pairs of shoes onto the court: “I try to be over-prepared,” he said. “I’m sweating like crazy. Today, what was it, 35 degrees outside? Today was crazy.

“Yeah, I just try to bring as much as I can. I have 20 jerseys, I have a lot of shoes. I’m glad I’ve been able to keep everything with me, to be honest, because I lose everything. That’s been going pretty well for me so far, especially in the majors.”