Former Wimbledon champion and Sky Sports analyst Marion Bartoli admits pushing Harriet Dart “beyond her limits” with the Brit winning her first WTA title at the Guangzhou Open in China at the weekend.
Dart, playing in her first Tour-level final, edged a thrilling match against 18-year-old Lilli Tagger from Austria 4-6 6-3 6-4.
The 30-year-old from Hampstead returned back into the top 100 of the WTA rankings and has a strong chance of automatic qualification into the main draw of the Australian Open, which runs from January 11-31.
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Highlights from the Guangzhou Open final between Dart and Lilli Tagger
Bartoli, who started working with Dart on a part-time basis since the start of the year, discussed her coaching philosophy and why she thought it was only a matter of time before the Brit would go on and make her mark.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the 2013 Wimbledon winner said: “I thought Harriet could do extremely well after the US open because everything we were working on in her game was starting to come to life more and more.
“Now, to tell you she could win a title, it was not my obsession. For me, as a coach, that’s not how I function. Everything has to follow a certain process of improvements. Once those improvements are made, that’s when the results start to come. That’s my whole philosophy behind my coaching system.
“We had a very strong week of training in Dubai, and when I hugged her at the end of her last practice with me before she left for Osaka, I told her: ‘You are playing amazing tennis, believe in yourself and keep fighting!’
“She did exactly that and so much more.”
How Bartoli began working with Dart
Bartoli began dissecting Dart’s game with the Brit ranked outside the top 160 at the time.
“When she contacted me earlier this year to start a collaboration, I knew exactly what I would like her to change and improve. The problem we were both facing is the lack of time we could actually properly spend together to work on her game,” said the former French Open semi-finalist and world No 7.
“We started to properly do that only when we were in Florida before Cincinnati, and since then, it has been incredibly satisfying to see how quickly Harriet has been improving, taking things on board, committed fully to them and applying them in matches.
“Seeing her now regularly serving several aces per match, moving forward, taking the ball early and going to an open stance more often, and charging the net.
“She won the Guangzhou tournament on a serve winner… it says a lot!”
Dart has won 19 of her 24 tour-level matches on the hard courts since Wimbledon with Bartoli admitting the Billie Jean King Cup regular is always pushing herself beyond her limits.
“She is an incredible fast learner once you have her trust,” revealed Bartoli. “There is never a problem to explain my theories and my thoughts behind a change I am asking her to do.
“She is extremely coachable and more importantly she is always giving 100 per cent in practice, which is for me a massive quality.
“I pushed her beyond her limits in practice, but she equally pushed herself beyond her own limits.”
Future bright under tutelage of Bartoli
Bartoli won Wimbledon in 2013
Bartoli felt a release of emotion on Sunday, and with Dart now up to world No 83 and British No 3, the Frenchwoman is certain there is more to come.
“I am feeling incredibly proud of her after her win,” Bartoli said. “The week she had, the number of matches she had to win in three sets is a true testimony to the relentless competitor she is.
“I cried when she won on a serve winner because I know how much time we have spent on that shot, and for her to finish on a match point like that speaks volumes.
“The future will be really bright for Harriet. We are just getting started because there is a lot I still want to add to her game.
“She can absolutely reach the top 30.”
It’s been a successful time for British women’s tennis with Sonay Kartal reaching the final of a WTA 1000 event in Wuhan, Katie Boulter making the semi-finals at a WTA 250 in Osaka, and now Dart sealing her maiden title at WTA 250 level.
Teenager Hannah Klugman also won the biggest title of her career at the Wrexham Open – a W100 event on the second-tier Challenger tour.
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