US Open 2024: Harriet Dart loses to Marta Kostyuk in a sultry New York

Conditions can often be tough during the final Grand Slam tournament of the season. The tournament takes place in the New York summer and matches are often played in sweltering conditions.

This was one of those occasions. Temperatures reached 35C at Flushing Meadows as Dart took on Kostyuk in the maelstrom of mid-afternoon heat.

This left both players struggling to maintain their composure in a volatile match that lacked quality.

There were frequent double faults from both servers, including one by Kostyuk on a set point in the tiebreak, and one by Dart, who also gave away the first break of the second set.

Another feature of this match, which was especially difficult to watch in the first set, was the wild comeback.

Dart becomes the British number two after the US Open. With that she passes Emma Raducanu, who enters the top 70 of the world for the first time thanks to her first round victory over the French Chloe Paquet.

Had she beaten Kostyuk, Dart would have entered the top 60 and achieved one of the biggest victories of her career.

She started well but regretted not being clinical enough in a messy first set and punishing her frustrated Kostyuk.

Darts opponents jumped en masse on a suspicious second serve and now she punished herself with a large number of double faults.

Dart appeared close to tears when she returned to the court and continued to gesture to her team, which was led by her mother Susie, who had been her coach in New York.

Reassuring words could not help Dart get back into her rhythm and the fight was sucked out of her as Kostyuk secured a victory that was ultimately more comfortable than it should have been.