Dart had suffered a tumble in her final training session on Sunday and she was 0-4 down before many had even settled into their seats, but the 29-year-old did, at least, conjure a superb response, winning the second set 6-3 after losing the first by the same score.
The decider, though, featured a string of missed opportunities – by both players – and while Dart got back to 4-4, she was ground down in the final two games and trudged off with utter disconsolation as Ostapenko apologised to the crowd for ruining the outcome they wanted.
“I know I was not the one you wanted to win,” Ostapenko said. “But thank you for being so nice.”
All first-round losers received £80,000, but the money was no consolation for Dart, who said: “The reality is I was up a break twice, but it’s a long way from the finish line. I mean, when you play players of the stature of Jelena, you know there is one or two points in it.
“In the end that’s what it kind of came down to. It felt like luck wasn’t really in my favour. This is like the first time I have really felt that [energy] here. I really felt their support on my side. It was great to have that kind of experience. It was quite special, actually. It just wasn’t to be.”
With Cameron Norrie going down in a nail-biter with Michael Zheng 6-7, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, it then fell to Oliver Tarvet to try to save some face but he was dismissed 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-5 by the Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.