Heather Watson

[Maza1987]

Well at least she got 3 hours of clay court match play in.

[Maza1987]

Interview with BBC before Fed Cup.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/tennis/17707106

[Maza1987]

Has been drawn against Andy's pick for future no.1 Caroline Garcia in quali rnd 1 of Estoril.

[Maza1987]

leading 61 51
comonn let's get this clay court season stared, baby!

[david1610]

I feel incredibly embarrassed. I have been looking out for Heather's first match in Estoril, to try and go, and come on here and find out it is (well is now) over.

6-1 6-1! Good start.
She is playing Shuai Zhang next, who beat A. Sevastova . The winners will play the winners of B. Botto and Sloane Stephens for a qualifying place. Sloane is already ranked 78 and is a friend of Heather's and has shot up the rankings since Estoril next year.

Drat... can't see my work allowing me to go tomorrow....

[Maza1987]

she doesnt have a good records against zhang. lost their last two times.

[Alis]

Let's hope for third time lucky then!

[JAMES4578]

Hope Heather can do it this time, certainly convincing win today!

[david1610]

Last year she went out in the final qualifying round to Paszek who was having a very good run.

[Maza1987]

heather has, on the face of it, got a good basis for a clay court game. so am hoping for some decent results this year.

[david1610]

she doesnt have a good records against zhang. lost their last two times.

Everything does not always come in threes. Heather won 6-4 6-1!

[JAMES4578]

yes a good win, hopefully goes well in the next match!

[Maza1987]

workin at mo.
just saw scoreline.
v happy.

[Maza1987]

Big task against her best friend Sloane Stephens in FQR.
Heather beat her in Canada a while back I remember watching on stream. Sloane was hitting the ball "sweet" (as Heather later Tweeted), but Heather came out on top in a relatively tight encounter. Similar build, but Sloane 'goes for it' a bit more. She has done the better of the two since they last met and seems to enjoy clay. But I will still say it's 50/50.

[david1610]

And it is Sloane Stephens who beat Botto 6-4 6-2.

[Jan]

well done Heather - I've been out most of the day so only just catching up!

[Alis]

Great result for Heather - hope she can keep it going!

[DaveArneRiise]

Sloane Stephens is a fantastic prospect in my opinion. Destined for great things. Tough match for Heather but she can do it!

[Jan]

All the best to Hev for this match! Won't be here to follow ls :sad:

[davech]

Heather's match should be starting any minute now...

http://www.protennislive.com/frameset.asp?year=2012&wkno=18&lang=en&tabno=1&eventid=m008&ref=www.estorilopen.net/

[Sallydaisy]

Heather having a tough time today for sure; went down 2-5 in the first set but has just broken serve then held. Stephens serving fpr the first set again at *5-4.

[Maza1987]

lost the first set 64
comon
need to have a bit more in the 2nd

[Maza1987]

Great fight by heather. Saved lots of bps early in the set and then broke in the crucial moment when Sloane was serving to stay in it.6-4
two hours down as we head into the final set.

[Sallydaisy]

Must be quite a tussle going on out there 'cos some of the points are taking ages!!!
2-2 in the 3rd set and on serve but Hev might have a slight advantage serving first.

[Maza1987]

yess, heather breaks,
4*-2
was that the straw that broke the camel's back?

[Sallydaisy]

Heather breaks in the 6th game and is now servin at *4-2!!!!

Come on Hev!
:swingin:

[Jan]

woo hooo come on Heather!!!

[Jan]

she held so it's 5-2*now :)

[Maza1987]

consolidates,
she's worked this match superbly thus far.

[Jan]

Yesssssssssssss!! Briliant Heather :yahoo::yahoo::yahoo:

[Sallydaisy]

:yahoo:

She's such a fighter that lass!!!

[Jan]

Sorry - in my excitement forgot to put the score!! 4-6 6-4 6-2

[Alis]

:clap::clap::clap: Fantastic match for Heather - Sloane is a worthy opponent. Well done Hev!!!! :cheer::cheer::cheer:

[Maza1987]

4-6 6-4 6-2.

Beautiful.

Worked her way into it as the match went on and went from strength to strength.

Well done.

[Sallydaisy]

REVISED DRAW - Mona Barthel out, Hercog in as 9th seed and a bit of a reshuffle

Heather will play 1 of Gajdosova, Hradecka, (6)Kanepi, (3)Medina-Garrigues or Danilidou.
None of those are easy matches!!!

(1) Roberta Vinci (ITA) - (WC) Nina Bratchikova (RUS)
Ayumi Morita (JPN) - (WC) Maria João Koehler (POR)
LL/Qualifier - Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS)
(WC) Bárbara Luz (POR) - (7) Nadia Petrova (RUS)

(4) Petra Cetkovska (CZE) - Alexandra Panova (RUS)
Qualifier - Lucie Hradecka (CZE)
Vania King (USA) - Johanna Larsson (http://www.tennisforum.com/showthread.php?p=21341839#) (SWE)
Qualifier - (6) Kaia Kanepi (EST)

(9) Polona Hercog (SLO) (8) Mona Barthel (GER) - Tamira Paszek (AUT)
Olga Govortsova (BLR) - Carla Suarez Navarro (ESP)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) - Silvia Soler-Espinosa (ESP)
Qualifier- (3) Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP)

(5) Jie Zheng (CHN) - Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)
Anastasiya Yakimova (BLR) - Galina Voskoboeva (KAZ)
Eleni Daniilidou (GRE) - Qualifier
Elena Baltacha (GBR) - (2) Maria Kirilenko (RUS)

[Maza1987]

Danilidou would seem to be the best bet.
Then a r2 match with Elena. hehe

[Katie]

Great win for Heather! :cheer:

[Sallydaisy]

Then a r2 match with Elena. hehe

hehe indeed ... Bally has to get past WR20 Kirilenko first ...

[Sallydaisy]

She got Hradecka!!! So she's in with a chance if she isn't too tired after 3 rounds of Qualies.

L32: (Q) Heather Watson WR115 v Lucie Hradecká (CZE) WR98 (CH41 last June)
They've met once before, in Monterrey 14mths ago, Hradecká winning in 3 sets 5-7 6-2 6-2.

[Alis]

Great stuff - I'm sure she'll be raring to go!

[david1610]

How surrealistic... saw the first two sets sitting just in front of Heather's mum but had to come back to Uni to teach a class (and came on here to find out she won the third and deciding set!)
Great fightback.. more later ... teaching!!!
PS No I left the phone in the car so no piccies... sorry!

[Maza1987]

Hradecka—that's doable.

[Jan]

Danilidou would seem to be the best bet.
Then a r2 match with Elena. hehe
I like your optimism!!

[david1610]

Well, that was a very interesting match to watch - at least, the first two sets. Both were 2-2 with quite tight games typically involving deuces or 40-30 with Heather in the first set dealing much better with Sloane's first serve than her second - she hit a lot of UEs off second serves in the first set as perhaps she was going for too much.
At 2-5 in the first,, the trainer spoke to Heather and she rallied to 5-4 before losing the first 6-4 after surviving what seemed like numerous SPs.
My general feeling was Sloane had an incredible amount of power and boy is she going to be strong when she irons everything out (e.g. getting more first serves in).

The second was very tight with Heather getting a break but then surrendering it, only to get another break to get the set. She seemed to cut down on the UEs and there not many free points given or taken.

3 RD Qual. last year saw Paszek get a bagel out of Heather and Sloane has a similar power of shot but I do not know if I have a selective memory but Heather seemed to hang in there much more this year. The longer the point, the more you fancied Heather's chances.

Towards the end of the second although still tight you got that feeling we often have had with Andy of the fighter in him not wanting to lose. Heather constructed some of the longer rallies extremely well ("She used her brain for a change!" to quote Mum after one of the rallies. The tennis tactician gradually got on top of the sloane/power ranger.
Unbelievably frustrating I had to leave at the start of the third but better to have seen two thirds than none at all.

Time for some parental liasion with my ex-wife over who has the kids tomorrow (yes I could take them but the bank manager might like me to be modest in my contribution to the Estoril Open Benevolent Fund as prices go up. Today for a ground pass, including Heather's court the ticket was ten euros! And I got to see del Potro and Gasquet playing proper points in practice through the fence!).

[david1610]

PS FWIW Sloane Stephens is playing Kanepi tomorrow as a Lucky Loser so Heather would have gone through anyway!
Heather on second on court 4 after a men's match, which starts at 11:00 a.m. Great as that means a ground pass will do.

And the centre court has four matches with 6 of the 8 players Portuguese. The one and only time of the year when that can be said at an ATP/WTA event!

[Jan]

thanks for the report David - much appreciated. Hope you get to see more!

[Alis]

PS FWIW Sloane Stephens is playing Kanepi tomorrow as a Lucky Loser so Heather would have gone through anyway!
Heather on second on court 4 after a men's match, which starts at 11:00 a.m. Great as that means a ground pass will do.

And the centre court has four matches with 6 of the 8 players Portuguese. The one and only time of the year when that can be said at an ATP/WTA event!

I'd rather Heather was playing Hradecka than Kanepi!

[Maza1987]

kanepi was the one who knocked heather out of the FO last year iirc.

[Alis]

Gosh - I hadn't realised that - well done her!

[Sallydaisy]

Heather's R1 Singles match is up next on Court 4.
Livescores here:
http://www.protennislive.com/frameset.asp?year=2012&wkno=18&lang=en&tabno=2&eventid=0308&ref=www.atpworldtour.com/

[Maza1987]

i can watch on ls for about 1hr. gl heather.

[Jan]

up on ls now
Come on Heather!!

[Sallydaisy]

Oooops! Heather broken in the first game.
She might be feeling tired - qualifying has meant a match on each of the last 3 days.
+ the FQR took 2.5hrs.

Just off to sort out the washing machine ahead of Bally's match ....

[Sallydaisy]

Hev broke back ..... 1-1
:)

[Jan]

my scoreboard keeps scrolling back up, so if I glance quickly I get the wrong match! Bit worrying when I though Hev was another break down! Glad to find she's not!!

[DaveArneRiise]

Hev up 3-2!

[Maza1987]

Got broken immediately and I thought this could be a long day.
But has broken back already.

3-2*

[Sallydaisy]

:sad:
Heather was broken in game 7 so Lucie is serving at *4-3 and looks as though she'll hold.
Hev did have a break point in game 6 and could have gone a break up herself if she had made it.

[Jan]

but our battling Hev DOES break!! it's 4-4

[Jan]

and a quick hold puts her at 5-4*

[Jan]

first set to Hev 6-4 :yahoo:

[Sallydaisy]

Woo hoo!!! Wish this was on a livestream too.
She came back from another break to win that set too!

[Jan]

yes - I think I'd probably be more glued to this match than Bally's.

[Jan]

Heather fighting to hold in the opening game of the 2nd

and as I type she serves a double to lose serve.

Ah well, she lost the opening game of the first!

[Maza1987]

Great. Just got in to work to see she took the first set.
And breaks immediately back in set 2
1-1*

[Jan]

Heb breaks straight back.

I'm not getting much of my sewing done....

[Maza1987]

got to go now.
the dream of heather v bally still on!

[Sallydaisy]

Heather at 4-3* in the 2nd set, just one teensy break now would be very useful ...
:shades:

[DaveArneRiise]

Heather completes the victory 6-4 6-4 :cheer:

[Jan]

:cheer: :cheer:
Hev wins 6-4 6-4
Brilliant!!!

[Sallydaisy]

:yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo:

Heather wins 6'4, 6'4 and is through to R2!!!

[Jan]

removed as my info was incorrect!

[JAMES4578]

Fabulous win, well done Heather!

[Alis]

Well done Heather - great win!! :cheer::cheer::cheer:

[Maza1987]

quick break from work to write

yesss.

[Jan]

Hev plays Cetkovska next, ranked 30, 4th seed. Would be a great one to win!!

[Maza1987]

I thought it would be Kirilenko, but must have read the draw wrong.
Cetkovska beat Heather easily last year in New Haven 1 and 1. Hopefully on clay she can work her way into the match a bit more.

46 points so far for this run. Really helps when you consider there are big points from FO to defend soon.

[Jan]

I thought it would be Kirilenko, but must have read the draw wrong.

I had that in my mind too - hence my remover post earlier. I think there was some talk here yesterday - before the qualifiers were placed - about Hev and Bally possibly meeting in the second round, but that would have been if Hev had been drawn against Danilidou.

[david1610]

Just got in from the match via taking my children to a children's film festival.
Got there a bit late (this work thing really can be annoying :) ) after they had exchanged breaks and holds. Heather broken again but then came back and won three games on the trot to including two breaks of serve to win the first set. They traded breaks in the second and then Heather broke to win 6-4 6-4.
But that you can see on livescore.
What came over today was just how much more tennis experience and savvy Heather has compared to when she was in Estoril a year ago. You can see the experience Heather has gained from matches with the likes of Sharapova and Azarenko and the wins against top 100 players. Just to put it into context, Heather's mum pointed out that Hradecka is one of the top ten fastest servers on the women's circuit and Heather was returning nearly all the first serves really well. Oh and Hradecka is a reigning French Open Doubles Champion.
She really hit the ball hard, but that almost went against her on serve as Heather got the ball back and induced a lot of UEs from her. What came across also is how Heather can hang in rallies and get more balls back and think of a way of winning the rally. In fact, I asked her mum if Heather liked playing on clay and she pointed out that in many ways Heather's game is best suited to clay.

Ah yes, not very good and not very many, but photos at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62061446@N03

PS And she killed her doubles match 6-2 6-0 (did not get to see it)

PPS Can't for the life of me understand why players enjoy the Estoril tournament....
http://www.wtatennis.com/gallery/20120430/estoril-gallery-the-cascais-marina-visit_2256674_2755490?imageNo=10#picture

[david1610]

Although Cetkovska beat Heather 6-1 6-1 last year in New Haven, Looking at her results this year, and they are a bit all over the place (W 8/ L 8) cimpared to Heather (W 8/L 9). Last 3 tournaments, Miami (hard) went out Caro in R32 (fair enough) but lost first set in R1 0-6 to Christina McHale (the only other 18-year-old in the top 100 last year along with Heather), the her two clay tourneys this year, beat Shahar Peep R32 Barcelona, but lost to Suarez Navarro (ranked 65) 2-6, 4-6 and in Fes R32 beat Czink R. 119 easily and R16 Bacsinszky R. 567 easily, but then lost to M. Johansson ranked 108 in straights.
So although currently ranked 28, while difficult, on clay, you never know...

[davech]

Yay! :yahoo:

[JAMES4578]

Yes it fab Heather came through in straights, great stuff!:cheer::cheer:

[david1610]

Heather second on tomorrow after ATP match
COURT 1 Start 11:00 am
[SE] Attila Balazs (HUN) v Bobby Reynolds (USA) ATP
Not Before 12:30 PM
[4] Petra Cetkovska (CZE) v [Q] Heather Watson (GBR) WTA

[david1610]

Yes it fab Heather came through in straights, great stuff!:cheer::cheer:
The best thing of all James was that there was no Herculean effort at the end of the second set to "get over the line" but rather "ah yes, the better tennis player is now going to win the match". It seemed natural rather than the plucky underdog creating an upset.

[Maza1987]

good chance to make the dubs semi as well.

[Jan]

Should be here for some of the match, but will miss the start if it's at 12.30.

[Jan]

match just up on ls.
Looks like they've swapped to a different court - there was a rain delay earlier.

[Sallydaisy]

Cheers Jan, will probably miss most of it as I've a ton of stuff to go out and do this afternoon.

[david1610]

Yes there was a heavy fall of rain around the supposed starting time so Heather's match must have been moved to another court as the match originally before them is still going on. Unfortunately, my window of opportunity to see the match was either 13:00 - 15:00 or after 18:00

Will settle for a victory though :)

[Maza1987]

heather holds after saving bps and now has bp of her own.

1-0*

[Sallydaisy]

Hold from Hev, then 30-0 on Cets serve, now Ad to Heather.
Bah!!!
Cetkovska held despite Hev going 30-0* up and having a break point. 1-1.

OOPS, Hev broken :-((

[Jan]

Hev is now 2-5* down :sad:

[david1610]

Heather breaks back! 5-3. Points so far 28-30 so not so different. Seems to be about getting a read on that first serve. C'mon Heather!

[Jan]

now 3-6 *0-3
not looking good

[Maza1987]

Finding it tough.
Was pretty close first set. Only 4 point differential, but cetkovska taking the points that matter.

0*-3 in second

[Jan]

slipping away fast, now *0-5

[Jan]

Hev's first serve % is up there at 84%, but only winning 50% of them.

and she serves her first ace to save the first of 3 match points

edit - all 3 mp's saved - now deuce!

[Jan]

Hev salvages a game from 0-40 down to save the bagel!
Cet to serve for the match at 5-1

[Sallydaisy]

Well held Heather - on the board in the 2nd set.

[Jan]

eek I have to go out!
Back shortly - will the fight back still be on??

[Sallydaisy]

Shame, Cet won 6'3, 6'1. Good fighting from Hev in the end.
I shouldn't be here - forgot my chequebook. Away now..................

[Maza1987]

Oh well. Still a good 4 singles matches to accustom herself to clay.
Still in the dubs.

[Sallydaisy]

Oh well. Still a good 4 singles matches to accustom herself to clay.
Still in the dubs.
Yep, and she made it to R2 which is 1 round better than either AnneK or Bally this week.

[Jan]

ah shame - but a good run for Hev this week and nice points too!

[DaveArneRiise]

Heather and Panova are through to the doubles semi finals after defeating Kops Jones/Spears 6-4 6-0 ! :cheer:

[Sallydaisy]

Hev is still in the doubles - and is into the Semi-Finals after she and partner, Panova, defeated the American duo of Kops-Jones/Spears 6'4 and 6'0.
:clap:

[Maza1987]

There's nothing to suggest they cannot go further.
:cheer:

[harriet]

just been a recount, after a DD, so are having to serve for it now
so they win 6-4, 6-1

[Maza1987]

A recount?
What is this? A presidential election.:laugh:

[Alis]

Sorry to be thick - what's a DD?

[Hawkeye]

Deciding Deuce.

[david1610]

When you said DD and voting though it meant Dodgy Data!

[Maza1987]

I know I'm getting way ahead of myself, but according to steven the last Brit to win a dubs title on the WTA tour was:


Clare Wood & Belinda Borneo (Wellington 1992, beat Jo-Anne Faull AUS & Julie Richardson NZL 0 & 6)

[Linda]

Heather's dubs match just started.

[david1610]

6-3 to the Chinese pair. From livescore it looks like there werer 8 breaks of serve and one hold! Never mind breaking to get a set it was more a case of holding. And 3-5 Heather and partner had 40-0 i.e. four game points with the Ad rule.
Pity....

[Maza1987]

Lost 36 36.

A good week overall.

6 matches on the red stuff.

[david1610]

I think it was eight! (or did somebody pull out?) 3 qualifying, 2 main draw, and three doubles (16-QF SF).

The other really good thing is that she would have been in the players area at the end of the week when it is almost deserted (cf. Judy's blogs about how different the atmosphere is). She could (and should!) get a taste for that!

[Maza1987]

Heather is scheduled to play a 100k challenger in France next week, however she is not in the qualy draw. So she has either made it directly into the main draw or has pulled out.

[david1610]

Heather is scheduled to play a 100k challenger in France next week, however she is not in the qualy draw. So she has either made it directly into the main draw or has pulled out.
Here facebook page states "Lost my doubles semifinal yesterday in Estoril and already in Nice, France. Raced here to play Qualifying today but moved into the main draw late last night so I now have a few days to rest and prepare for my first round. Much appreciated!"

[Maza1987]

Heather back in action in a 50k in France next week. Has drawn Kristina mladenovic. They've played 3 times with heather winning two of them.

[Jan]

Hev's lost the first set to Mlad. 2-6
It's 1-1 in the second.

edit - Hev drops serve, it's now *1-3

[Jan]

it looks as though Hev retired... scoreboard shows Mlad winning 6-2 5-1
I was following on a stream, but it started to play up, so I gave up.
Hope Hev is OK...

edit - apparently no retirement, Hev lost 2-6 1-6. :sad:

[Maza1987]

^phew, I'd rather have her lose under normal circumstances than through a retirement with so many points to defend ahead of the FO.

Mladenovic can be brilliant if she can play consistently.

[david1610]

Going to be very important to get a good draw at RG methinks!

[Maza1987]

Happy 20th birthday to Heather.:)

[Maza1987]

plays sharon feichman in FO first rnd qualies tomorrow at 9am

also an article on her thoughts on FO
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/other-sports/football-was-unlucky-for-heather-watson-but-shes-back-on-her-feet-with-a-french-open-goal-7777959.html?origin=internalSearch

[david1610]

Had not realised (as I should have) that she of course has to qualify..... drat..... good luck Heather!

[Maza1987]

Won first set 61

[Jan]

nice win for Hev 6-1 6-2 - well done! :clap:

[JAMES4578]

Glad it was very comfortable, well done Heather!

[david1610]

Well done. Keep the momentum going!
Playing Ons Jabeur, a Tunisian who is 17 and currently ranked 482, so an up-and-coming young un.
On second after a Mens Qualifier, due to start at 9:00 UK time, so must be coming up quite soon.

[Jan]

Hev is *4-2 up in the first

make that 5-2* :)

[Maza1987]

Beat jabeur 76 63
still has more points to defend but thats 50 in the bag.

[Jan]

yes that's a good win - well done Hev!

[Jan]

Hev up first tomorrow in the fqr

[DaveArneRiise]

Heather through to the main draw with an impressive 6-0 6-1 win over Floris. :cheer:

[Maza1987]

Easy peasy. Now hoping for a good draw.

[Alis]

Easy peasy. Now hoping for a good draw.

I really hope for Heather that she does - Azarenka in Oz was hard lines.

[Maza1987]

^and shara in the major before that.

[Maza1987]

Possible first rnd opponents for Heather. Some good ones in there.

[WC] Caroline Garcia
Aleksandra Wozniak
Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez
Kateryna Bondarenko
Ana Ivanovic
Angelique Kerber
Anna Tatishvili
Marion Bartoli
Christina McHale
Mona Barthel
Mandy Minella
Elena Vesnina

[Jan]

well done Hev!!!

[JAMES4578]

Fabulous that it was such an emphatic win, well done Heather!

[david1610]

Great. She was seeded 5 and justified the seeding. THat is important in her second year on the circuit - being "merciless" with those ranked even just a bit below her to give her confidence to get more experience against the higher ranked. Well done Heather!

[Linda]

Heather's drawn against Vesnina.

[Maza1987]

Hmm,
Seems winnable.

[davech]

Yep - Heather has a chance there. Vesnina has been struggling with a wrist injury so won't be 100%...

[Maza1987]

a poster on bt.net just pointed out the fact that vesnina has only won once in 7 appearances at FO.

[Linda]

wonderful! :big grin:

[Jan]

let's hope Hev can make it 1 in 8!!

[patmoren]

Good luck to Heather, she is having a good year this far.

[david1610]

Current ranking 83, has been as high as 22.
Current doubles ranking is 7.
Yes, 1/7 record on clay at RG. Much more approachable than many others with similar ranking history.
C'mon Heather. Time to take your rightful place in the top 100 and then move up!

[Maza1987]

Heather is 1st on court 6 with Anne 3rd on the same court.

10am uk time, should be on both Eurosport and ITV4.

[Jan]

great - should be able to catch these - and Andy later. Hmm might not get much else done tomorrow - though it is easier being able to watch a larger screen - it is possible to do other stuff at the same time, until it gets tense!!!

[Maza1987]

Heather has stepped out onto court, warming up.
ITV4 looks to be better than Eurosport in terms of picture clarity.

[cazza99]

Heather has stepped out onto court, warming up.
ITV4 looks to be better than Eurosport in terms of picture clarity.

And Mark Petchey is commentating:)

[Maza1987]

And Mark Petchey is commentating:)

Who's the lady?

[Maza1987]

Great start.
*3-1.

She looks to have added to her weight of shot since I last watched her on t.v.

[DaveArneRiise]

Annoying how talk of our game as if it's a bad thing that she's a counter puncher and more defensive at times. Not at all IMO, refreshing. Rather than just a run of the mill slasher type of player. Takes a lot of skill to play that kind of game, just look Murray. It's a valuable asset to get more balls back into play, and extremely valuable to be good defensively. I actually think Heather's game will take her further than Robson's.

[Maza1987]

more good serving and it's 4-1*

her fastest serve today is 176km (109mph) which, i'm sure is faster than last year

[Maza1987]

the second part of that set was dictated by Vesnina's misses. probably because she feels like she needs to go for the the lines more now.

6-2

[DaveArneRiise]

Visnina has been poor but take nothing away from Heather, again another example of why it's good to get a lot of balls back in court. Frustrates opponents.

Watson plays rather like Murray IMO, really lovely game she has got.

[cazza99]

Who's the lady?

Sam Smith

[Sallydaisy]

Come on Heather!
:swingin:

Watched her play at Edgbaston last year and really enjoyed the style of game she has; hoping to go again this year for 1 or 2 days as well 'cos I've family I can stay with only 45mins away.

[cazza99]

Come on Heather :cheer:

6-2 1-1

[Maza1987]

Break point not taken and now it feels like a mini momentum turner as Vesnina has broken
1-2*

[DaveArneRiise]

Pitty, broken at start of the 2nd. Think not converting on BP at the beginning of this set could prove pivotal. Hope not.

[Maza1987]

comonn
vesnina's playing well but still heather breaks back
great slide into that return drop shot pass
2*-2

[DaveArneRiise]

Holds for 3-2 as well. Great stuff, important as Vesnina seemed to be getting some momentum going.

[cazza99]

Heather has broken in the 2nd set :cheer:

Score now 6-4 4-2

[Maza1987]

now 4*-2

has she gotten over vesnina's one big barrage?

[DaveArneRiise]

now 4*-2

has she gotten over vesnina's one big barrage?

Not yet, 2 break back points for the Russian.

[cazza99]

6-4 4-4 in the second set.

[Maza1987]

Ohh, now at 4*-4.

Big moments now in this match.

[cazza99]

DavidLaw ‏@DavidLawTennis

Live commentary on the @HeatherWatson92 march currently courtesy of @nicklester and @Mike_Dickson_DM on @BBC5LSX

[Maza1987]

Vesnina serving to stay in it. Break would be lovely.

[DaveArneRiise]

Vesnina serving to stay in the match at 4-5.

15-0
30-0
30-15
30-30
30-40 MP
Vesnina goes long !

Excellent win for Heather!

[lynne]

Come on Heather!!!!

[cazza99]

match point Heather :sofa:

[Sallydaisy]

:yahoo:

Heather wins 6'2, 6'4. Into R2 at Roland Garros!!!

[cazza99]

:yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

Heather wins 6-2 6-4

[Maza1987]

Yesss, 160pts fully defended!:)

[lynne]

BRAVO HEATHER!!!!...............WELL PLAYED!!!......enjoyable match to watch!!!:)

[Maza1987]

In all the hoopla, it could be forgotten that her fastest serve was 179kmph (111mph). Perhaps she has started hitting the dumbbells now that she is 20. hehe

[Sallydaisy]

Next up for Heather is Julia Goerges[25] of Germany who's just beaten Hradecka 7-6, 6-4.

[david1610]

In all the hoopla, it could be forgotten that her fastest serve was 179kmph (111mph). Perhaps she has started hitting the dumbbells now that she is 20. hehe
Many a true word spoken in jest!

Well done Heather. Really good to defend the points and to get more experience of playing one of the top thirty in the next round.

Georges results in GSs are a bit like a metronome, With one exception, 2009 was R1 exits, 2010 R2 exits, 2011 R3 exits and in 2012 R4 at the Australian!

But .... Heather should give it a good shot!

[Jan]

Brilliant Hev!!:yahoo::yahoo:
I did enjoy watching that - especially on a TV screen rather that the computer monitor! Some great play and fight from our girl!

[Maza1987]

I will always remember Goerges winning Stuttgart on clay last year. She's an amazing player but is very up and down. Heather will have a reasonable outside shot at an upset if she can play to her very best.

[JAMES4578]

Great win for Heather, well done! Hopefully she can take it to Georges.

[Jan]

nice interview with Hev in the studio :thumbup:

[lynne]

Yes Jan, a great interview from Heather, must admit I have a little soft spot for Heather!!:thumbup:

[Linda]

Well done Heather :) :clap: :clap:

[Maza1987]

Thanks Steven for linking to her interview on ITV4.
http://www.itv.com/frenchopen/features/exclusive-watson-all-smiles-after-vesnina-win/

[karanga]

Well done Heather. Enjoyed watching this match. :clap: :clap: :clap:

[david1610]

It is starting to feel "normal" that Heather gets through to round 2, in my mind, which is good for the future!

[Jan]

Hev is last (4th) on court 2 tomorrrow vs Goerges

[Maza1987]

So about 4pm uk time maybe.

Good that it doesn't clash with Andy.

[Maza1987]

Tipsy has just won, so Heather in 20 mins.

[MurrayAOne]

Go Heather!!!!!!!!!

[Jan]

come on Hev!!!

[Maza1987]

Ooh, a break to start.
1*-0

[Sallydaisy]

Goerges broke back tho'; 1-1.
and she just held for 2-1.

Come on Hev!!!

[Jan]

eek 2 df's

[Jan]

great point from Hev.

Wish they'd hurry up and finish on PC - I'v got to go out in a bit and want to record Hev.

[Jan]

bp for Hev

[Jan]

yes - she breaks back - well done Hev!

[Maza1987]

Get's the break back
2*-3

But Julia has, as expected, serious power to control the majority of the rallies.

[KnightOwl]

So, is this back on serve, then....?

Edit: never mind, just seen the previous two posts...

[Jan]

Hev broken again :sad:

[Jan]

my lovely husband is going to do my taxi-run so I can keep watching Hev :hug:

Hev just loses first set :sad:

[Sallydaisy]

German Eurosport, not surprisingly, are covering live the Goerges v Watson match.

[Jan]

my stream has just gone

found another!

[Jan]

Hev has a bp!

[KnightOwl]

Hev has a bp!

Brilliant point to get it too! Deuce though....

[Maza1987]

Man, Heather is really having to fight hard but has managed to break back in the 2nd.
*2-2.

Not easy when your opponent has the heavier shot by some margin.

[Sallydaisy]

Oooh, Hev broke back and it's on serve at 2-2

[Jan]

great fighting from Hev!

[Maza1987]

Shame ITV can't show it until marathon man Isner finishes.

[Jan]

that serve looked good

[Jan]

from 40-0 to deuce. come on Hev

[Jan]

another game point for Hev

[Jan]

deuce.

[Maza1987]

3-2*

It's tough when Goerges is playing well and your style cannot go toe to toe with her. You really have to be inventive and try to play with more depth to counter the big hitting.

[Lizzim]

It's on Eurosport 2 for anyone in the UK not already watching :)

[Jan]

great return from Hev to set up break point - come on!

...deuce

[Jan]

JG playing very well

[Jan]

Hev to serve *3-5

[Jan]

well held Hev

[Jan]

Hev loses - JG too good.

But well done to Hev for the nice run :thumbup:

[Sallydaisy]

ITV4 are going to show some of Hev's match after the ad break.

[JAMES4578]

A good effort from Heather as she hung in there, but ultimately Georges was the stronger player today.

[Jan]

ITV4 are going to show some of Hev's match after the ad break.

thanks - I'll keep the video rolling!

[david1610]

I could not see it but from your description that sounds like progress - she was hanging in there. A year ago it might have been 6-2 6-2. Another year might be a loss in three and another two, a win in three.
Encouraging! Sounds like a top fifty performance!

[Maza1987]

It wasn't easy today against Goerges playing well. The scoreline is pretty representative of the match. One thing the commies picked up on was that her return of second serve was all too often in the middle of the court and not deep enough. Many things can still be improved and I'm sure she will continue to work on them.

Pleased with the tourny overall. Defended all of her points and now doesn't have too much coming off for the rest of the year (except two big counting scores from Toronto and Shrewsbury) so hopefully can continue to move up the rankings.

Hoping to possibly see her in Birmingham.

[Jan]

Sam Smith (I think) was complimentary about Hev's game - said you wouldn't look at her and think there were lots of technical changes to make - but needs to add power (I've paraphrased)

[Sallydaisy]

Nice tweet from Heather .....
Heather Watson ‏@HeatherWatson92 (https://twitter.com/#%21/HeatherWatson92)
Thanks to everyone who stayed late and supported me tonight! You were absolutely amazing! Thank you :) X

[Maza1987]

Petkovic withdrawing from Wimby means Heather should get in by right and won't need a WC.

Also a great win over Elena today.

[Jan]

Hev did very well to turn that match around. I'm really pleased for her, but sad for Bally at the same time.

[DaveArneRiise]

Hev lost the first set against the experienced Vinci 6-3 but is up a break 3-2 in the 2nd! Cmon Heather!!!!!

Hev takes the 2nd set 6-4 :cheer:

Hopefully she can push Vinci all the way in the decider and maybe nick it? You never know. Would be a monstrous win this, Vinci is is ranked number 20 in the world.

[Sallydaisy]

Heather has taken the 2nd set 6'4. That's pretty good going against the world #20.

[DaveArneRiise]

Do you have a Live stream link for the match Sally? All I've got is Live score....

[Sallydaisy]

Just on Livescore because I'm painting and decorating at the same time so just keeping an occasional eye on it.

Unfortunately, Vinci has recovered her game a bit and is now 4-1 up with Hev serving.

[supergran]

I'm on livescore and tv. Trying to get housework done in between!!!

[Sallydaisy]

Hev loses but that was a good match from her against the 4th seed at this event.
Vinci took it: 6'3, 4'6, 6'1.

That ends British singles interest at this event.
Robson/Watson still in the doubles if it gets played ..... rain headed to Birmingham by 6pm!!!

[Jan]

looks like a good fight from Heather. Hope she can keep this form up!

[Maza1987]

Good to see she fought to get the 2nd set.
But vinci is a good grass court player.

Hope she gets a good wimby draw as the 100 points for a win should take her comfortably into the top 100 and with not too much to defend for the rest of the year.

[supergran]

Well done, fighting and getting a set. Here's hoping she gets a good Wimbledon draw.

[super8]

Kaia Kanepi has withdrawn from Wimbledon due to a foot injury.

This now means that Heather Watson will make the Wimbledon main draw purely by virtue of her ranking.

She now no longer needs the wildcard that had been given to her.

[Maza1987]

Has got a wc to Eastbourne md.

[supergran]

Lovely photo of Laura and Heather on twitter.

[Maza1987]

^can you link to it. don't really follow twitter.