The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Watson breaks down barrier – seven years after Williams epic
Heather Watson finally buried the ghost of her agonising defeat by Serena Williams seven years ago by reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Watson made the second week of a grand slam for the first time after a dramafilled win over Kaja Juvan.
Playing at her 12th Wimbledon and in her 43rd major tournament, the British number four thrilled Court One with a landmark 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 victory.
The closest Watson had previously come to the fourth round was here in 2015, when she served for the match against Williams but lost 7-5 in the third.
Upon hitting the winning volley, Watson raised her arms in the air before kneeling on the turf with her head in her hands.
“I was thinking that I’ve made it to the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time, because that has been a goal of mine for, like, 10 years,” she revealed.
“The closest I was to that was my match against Serena, I was two points away there.
“That was the first time I think I’d set that goal for myself then. That year was to reach second week of a grand slam.”
Slovenian Juvan, at 69 ranked 40 places above Watson, was a dangerous opponent who had beaten the highly-fancied Beatriz Haddad Maia in round one.
But the 21-year-old folded after Watson edged a nerveridden first-set tie-break, while the confident Briton won 11 consecutive points as she raced into a 5-0 lead in the second.
There was a Watsonesque wobble at the death – “It wouldn’t be me if there wasn’t a bit of drama at the end” – but she got over the line with her first match point after five tense deuces.
She may now be 30 and outside the world’s top 100, but from out of nowhere Watson is suddenly enjoying the summer of her career 12 years after her Wimbledon debut.
Her run is all the more remarkable given she suffered a hamstring scare in the build-up to this year’s championships.
Watson will face Germany’s Jule Niemeier, the world No 97, for a place in the quarter-finals.
Watson returned to the court for her first-round doubles match with Harriet Dart, and the British duo beat Emina Bektas and Kristina Kucova 6-2 6-4.
Ons Jabeur breezed through her latest match to book a place in the fourth round and warned her rivals more is to come.
A 6-2 6-3 win over Diane Parry in 68 minutes was the longest amount of time the Tunisian had spent on court at the All England Club this summer but still means she has only played just over three hours in SW19 so far.
The third seed was in superb touch against her French opponent and showed her full repertoire of tricks on Centre Court with several trademark drop shots able to help her into the last 16.
Elise Mertens, who downed former Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber 6-4 7-5, stands between Jabeur and a place in the quarter-finals.
Mum-of-two Tatjana Maria provided the big shock by knocking out Maria Sakkari.
Fifth seed Sakkari had beaten the German at the Australian Open in January but suffered a 6-3 7-5 loss in one hour and 30 minutes on Court Two.
Maria will next take on Jelena Ostapenko, who beat the German and her partner Oceane Dodin in the women’s doubles on Thursday.
Twelfth seed Ostapenko was the first woman into the fourth round but needed three sets to get the better of Irina Begu 3-6 6-1 6-1.
Czech ace Marie Bouzkova won 6-2 6-3 against 28th seed Alison Riske and will take on Carolina Garcia in the last 16.
Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams returned to grand-slam action last night with victory alongside Jamie Murray in the mixed doubles.
The 42-year-old bowed out in the second round of the singles at Wimbledon last year and has only been involved in one other match since, which has sparked talk of retirement.
But a surprise wild card announcement earlier in the week saw the American back on the London lawn and teaming up with Murray, three years since their siblings Serena Williams and Andy Murray paired up in SW19.
And a 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 victory over Michael Venus and Alicja Rosolska ensured the pair continued to fly the family flag at Wimbledon after Andy and Serena made early exits from the singles.