British duo Dan Evans and Harriet Dart edge closer to main draw

Updated 10/01/2019 at 09:50 GMT

Britain’s Dan Evans and Harriet Dart took one step closer to reaching the main draw of the Australian Open singles after reaching the third and final round of qualifying.

Dan Evans

Image credit: Eurosport

Evans beat Austria’s Jurij Rodionov 6-4 3-6 7-5 after more than two hours on court.

The British No 4 produced a remarkable winner in the opening set, playing a round-the-back shot after initially running the wrong way when Rodionov sent a forehand down the middle.

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Evans faces Paolo Lorenzi in the last qualifying round – the Italian is ranked 109 in the world and has reached at least the first round in Melbourne for the last four years.

Meanwhile, Dart was too strong for China’s Shilin Xu, winning her encounter 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 to set up a clash against Serbian Ivana Jorovic.

Dart, 22, featured at last year’s Wimbledon, but is yet to reach the main draw of any of the other three Grand Slams.

Fellow Briton James Ward crashed out in the second round of qualifying after losing 6-4 3-6 6-3 to Argentine Marco Trungelliti.

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