British No 1 Katie Boulter is knocked OUT of Wimbledon by No 2 Harriet Dart, who was in tears when she thought she would lose before remarkable turnaround

Harriet Dart upset Katie Boulter in a three-set thriller that ended with a 10-8 tiebreak in the third, weeks after British No1 knocked her out of contention in their meeting at Eastbourne. 

Dart had thought that she was destined to head out of the competition at 6-2 down in the tiebreak, and was seen wiping away tears as she sought to collect herself. 

Battling through early disappointment, the 27-year-old held her mettle against the No32 seed and claimed just the second victory in their eight career meetings.  

'I wear my emotions on my sleeve, so you see everything,' Dart said in her on-court interview on Thursday afternoon. 'But thank you so much for the support, it was so fab.' 

Boulter had high praise for her opponent in the build-up to Thursday's No1 Court clash, pointing out that grass was her 'favourite surface' and the All England Club her 'home club'. 

The Nottingham Open winner was flashier in the opening set, winning her first break at 2-2 before claiming the first set 6-4, in front of her boyfriend Alex De Minaur, fresh off his victory against Jaume Munar earlier that day and in the stands for the final two games. 

Dart's bounceback in the second set was a ferocious one, and the British No2 went on a tear after claiming an aggressive break in the second game which saw Boulter only capable of registering a solitary point. 

The British No1's floundering saw her deliver a staggering 75 unforced errors to Dart's focused 35, and in the tiebreak, the lower-ranked player's grit shone through. 

After heading to the back of the court on the verge of collapse, Dart won the next four points before a loose forward called time on Boulter's hopes of a third-round appearance. 

Dart and Boulter have been accused of having a less-than warm relationship on the court exchanged a warm hug at the end of the three-hour contest.  

'My head-to-head is absolutely woeful against Katie Boulter so I wasn't expecting too much but at the same time I just tried my best out there,' Dart said in her on-court interview. 

'Even though I was down in that tie-break I just thought give it everything, no regrets and I'm really pleased to be able to battle through. 

'I haven't played on Court One since I played mixed doubles here a few years ago, so it's so nice to get my first big win on a really big stadium court in front of a home crowd. It's absolutely surreal. '

Last year saw Dart knocked out in the first round in agonising fashion in SW19, but this time around, the player will begin her preparations to face Wang Xinyu, matching her furthest-ever run in the tournament. 

Wang also went three sets with her seeded opponent on Thursday afternoon, world No5 Jessica Pegula, before pulling off the upset on No3 Court.