British interest in the women’s singles at the rain-hit Nature Valley Open in Nottingham ended with defeats for Harriet Dart and Maia Lumsden.

The pair were the only two home players to progress to the second round and both found themselves with formidable tasks.

For the fourth straight day there was no play possible outdoors on the grass because of the wet weather, so matches were played on the indoor hard courts at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.

British number four Dart was first in action against sixth seed Ajla Tomljanovic from Australia.

In a topsy-turvy opening set, Dart recovered from 2-0 down to lead 5-2, only for Tomljanovic to fight back and force a tie-break.

Although the British player took that, she then struggled as Tomljanovic sealed a 6-7 (5) 6-1 6-2 victory to claim a place in the quarter-finals.

Scot Lumsden recorded her first WTA victory by beating fellow British player Tara Moore on Wednesday but top seed Caroline Garcia was a significant step up and the Frenchwoman eased to a 6-3 6-1 win.

Second seed Donna Vekic, the champion two years ago, was in fine form in a 6-1 6-2 success against lucky loser Chloe Paquet that lasted just 53 minutes.

With the women using the indoor courts on site, the men’s Challenger event is being played at Nottingham Trent University.

Top seed Dan Evans faced 17-year-old compatriot Jack Draper, who was the runner-up in the boys’ singles at Wimbledon last year, in the second round.

Draper made a fine start and led 5-2 but he was unable to take advantage of a set point, and nine games in a row for Evans helped him on the way to a 7-5 6-3 victory.

Evans, whose winning run is now six matches following his title success in Surbiton last week, will now take on Swede Mikael Ymer in the third round.