Fed Cup British tennis star Harriet Dart secured a place in the second round at the Nature Vally Open in Nottingham.
The 22-year-old won 7-6(7) 3-6 6-3 against Vera Lapko, who is ranked 103rd in the world, and will now face sixth seed Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.
Dart, who missed the French Open because of injury, said: “I regrouped well after the second set and managed to get through.
"It’s always difficult coming back from injuries but I’m feeling good. I’m pain-free so that’s the main thing. And I’m ready to play.”
Dart, who helped GB to the Fed Cup World Group earlier this year, comes up against Tomljanovic who beat Danielle Lao in the first round.
“I have nothing to lose, I’ll go out there and do the best that I can and we’ll see what happens,” continued Dart.
"Whether we play indoors or outside, it’s the same for both of us.”
Meanwhile, former winner Donna Vekic spoke of her love for Nottingham as she progressed to the second round of the LTA summer grass court event with victory over Dalila Jakupovic.
The 22-year-old won 6-2 6-7(5) 6-0 to set up a match against France’s Chloe Paquet in round two.
Jakupovic and Vekic began warming up on centre court for what would have been the first outdoor match of the first round, but bad weather meant that the match was suspended and moved indoors.
Vekic, the champion in 2017, said: “I love Nottingham. I was very sad to go indoors.
“I love playing on grass and I was really happy to see so many people out there today, even with all the rain the last couple of days.
“Everyone came out today and it’s really unfortunate that we had to go inside again and no-one could watch us.”
Meanwhile, British No.3 Heather Watson lost her first-round match with Maria Sakkari 4-6 3-6, despite proving tough competition for the up-and-coming Greek.
The two were neck and neck in the first set but the Brit struggled to keep up with Sakkari’s exceptional serves.
Despite a rally in the second set by Watson, Sakkari went on to win in straight sets.
