France beat Great Britain in BJK Cup as Harriet Dart battles in defeat to Garcia

In the three singles rubbers of their Billie Jean King Cup Qualifying tie against France, Great Britain put up a strong, gritty resistance as underdogs on home soil. No match was easy, no game was relinquished without a fight and they punched above their weight until the end.

But no amount of grit and goodwill could hold off the more talented, experienced and accomplished team as France closed off the three matches with three victories. After edging out Katie Boulter in her opening rubber, Caroline Garcia held off a late surge from Harriet Dart to win 6-1, 6-7 (10), 6-1 to clinch a 3-0 win.

“We knew it was going to be a battle from the first point until the last one over the two days,” said Garcia, the world No 5 and WTA Finals champion. “They proved why they did so well last year in the finals. We had to go very deep and I had to stay focused every single time, keep playing my game.”

France proceed to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November at a venue still yet to be confirmed. After reaching the semi-finals in last year’s edition in Glasgow, Great Britain will contest a playoff tie as they attempt to fight off relegation from the top group.

The opening day had produced two extremely tight match-ups between players with similar styles. Boulter opened the tie fighting fire with fire, serving well and using her forehand to devastating effect as she succumbed to Garcia in three tiebreaks. Dart, meanwhile, hung with Alize Cornet during their various long, physical and thoughtful exchanges before the Frenchwoman edged her out in two tiebreaks.

The battle of the two No 1s, however, presented a complete mismatch. On such a fast indoor court that rewards aggression, Dart was too underpowered against Garcia’s vast weaponry.