Heather happier playing doubles
Finding happiness off the court with a footballer has given Heather Watson a boost as she heads into her eighth Australian Open.
A chance meeting with Yeovil Town striker Courtney duffus at the end of Wimbledon last summer is what the British no 2 says is behind her revived form going into the season’s first grand Slam.
Watson is back in the world’s top 75 after making the semi-finals of last week’s Hobart international and getting established in a cross-sport relationship does not appear to have harmed her partner, either.
Former Everton youth player duffus was named Conference player of the month for december and has scored 12 times this season.
‘Since we met we’re doing a lot, lot better. He’s had a big part to play because he’s super positive,’ said Watson.
‘i don’t like to let boys have too much influence over me but he has really been a good influence. He’s so calm, level-headed. You all know i’m quite emotional. He’s just really, really supportive.
‘He gets up at all hours of the night, he watched all my matches in Hobart. i just need that.
‘it’s not just because he plays sport. That helps but i know there are sportspeople who don’t understand as well.’
Watson is not much of a football follower and had some negative perceptions of what a member of that profession might be like, only to be pleasantly surprised.
‘it was finals weekend of Wimbledon and i was going out to dinner with naomi Broady (fellow British player). She was staying with me in London and he had the weekend off, he was in London with his brother and we just met in a restaurant.
‘At that stage of my life i had no interest in boys. i thought they were the worst.
‘i didn’t want a boyfriend for a long time, so for me it was just going to be a fun night. nice meal, meet someone new and that’s it. He had other plans.
‘i found out later in the night he was a footballer, so i was like, “For sure, not going to date him”. i don’t really follow football. i do now — well, i follow Yeovil. He’s the opposite of what i thought a footballer was.
‘On Boxing day we went with his family and he scored a hat-trick, so that was awesome. i’ve learned that they don’t train nearly as much as we do, it’s a good life.’
now 27, Watson is trying to find the spark that will see her regain a place in the world’s top 50, where it looked like she would reside for years when she nearly beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2015.
She must wait until tomorrow to face Czech Kristyna Pliskova, the world no 62 who is less formidable than her twin, world no 2 Karolina.
Watson confirmed she will play for gB in the Fed Cup next month, while Middlesex’s Harriet dart will also play tomorrow after qualifying for the second consecutive year.
dart, who faces Japan’s Misaki doi, will surely avoid her fate of last year when she lost 6-0, 6-0 to Maria Sharapova on Rod Laver Arena, something that persuaded her to recruit a sports psychologist.
‘i played on a big court here and then i played on Centre Court at Wimbledon against Ash Barty,’ she said. ‘i learned a lot from it in terms of playing on a big court, big crowd situation, who it’s against. i really tried to channel that in a better way.’
The whole subject interests the 23-year-old Middlesex player, who was studying for an Open University degree in psychology before putting it on hold to focus on tennis.