'Not the most fun' - Mixed emotions from British tennis players Dart and Burrage at the Lexus Eastbourne Open

Burrage beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-3, 6-2 in a commanding win for the 26-year-old, while Dart missed two match points in a frustrating loss for the 28-year-old.

Both players had to deal with the windy conditions, but Burrage was pleased to weather it better than her opponent and get through to the next round.

After her win, Burrage said: “Not the most fun today. I mean, it was very fun getting the win.

“Obviously, the conditions out there today are pretty tough. I thought I actually played well, considering, and served well in the wind, which is not easy.

“Very happy to get through and felt like I really needed that win today. The last few weeks have been a bit tough, had some close matches, close battles.”

Burrage was aware of the Eastbourne conditions due to her previous experiences at the tournament and adapted well to playing ‘ugly tennis.’

“It's not easy down here. When we got down here on Saturday, it was, 30 degrees, no wind, but everyone was like, this is great, and I was like, no, guys, it's coming, the wind in Eastbourne is coming.

“I've played a few matches down here before and it's been similar. It's blustery out there and you just got to find a way.

“Sometimes it's very ugly tennis, and that's just what I'm happy with.”

Burrage has set up a tie against Barbora Krejcikova, who earlier defeated Dart 6-3, 6-7, 7-5, in which Dart missed two match darts.

She said: “Yeah, I haven't thought too much about it yet. I know she obviously had a battle with Harriet [Dart].

“Harriet, I think, had two match points. It's not easy, but Harriet can play great on the grass and obviously a world champion as well. Barbara [Krejcikova], she'll be playing some good stuff.

“But I've proven that I can try and beat anyone on this surface. It'll be an interesting match tomorrow. I'm going to have to play well. I'll do my research a little bit more tonight and then go from there.”

It was very close to being an all-brit affair, but Dart failed to get over the line against last year’s Wimbledon champion, losing 3-6, 7-6, 5-7 in a tight affair.

Despite the heart-breaking ending, Dart took the positives from a much-improved performance.

She said: “Of course, I'd like to have won today, but I was also playing a very experienced multiple major winner.

“Obviously very match you want to go and win, but at the same time, for me, today was really important about how my level was because I was a bit disappointed with how the last two weeks went. I was playing not great tennis.

“So, for me, today is a step forward in the sense that my level was much, much better, and I was much happier with the way I played.

“Of course I lost, but at the same time, I know that's the right way to play, and going forward, it will help me a lot more.”

The windy conditions also made play tricky for both players, with serving especially hard.

It led to the first four games being won against the serve, and two rain delays also occurred early on.

On the conditions, Dart said: “Both of us definitely struggled today serving, especially at the start because we didn't practise in the day.

“We had an eight-minute warm up and then right to it, and then also it was tough to come off on the rain break, so both times I was actually serving. So, it was like a little bit tough for me in that respect.

“Think it's still even now, I think for the players, it's really tough out there, but you just try and do your best in the situation that becomes what it is.”

Dart revealed that the last few months for her had been pretty tough, and that she is focusing on her tennis going into Wimbledon next week.

“I would say, for me, the last few months has been pretty tough. There's also things that I don't share in public about things that are going on with me.

“I'm just trying to handle everything the best I can at the moment and just keep working hard.

“I'm just trying to keep improving my tennis because at the end of the day, that's all that really matters to me when I'm out there, to try and play a good match, regardless of whether I win or lose, to come up and win that.

“I put everything out there.”