HEATHER SHINES
Watson hits top form to go through but sorry Robson is bundled out
HEATHER WATSON secured her spot in the second round with a roar, but Laura Robson departed with no more than a whimper.
As was evident at the All England Club yesterday, these two Brits are poles apart in terms of form. While it is all coming together for one, it is all over for the other at this year’s Championships.
Last year Watson was given a fine of £9,040 for taking out her frustration on the Wimbledon turf with her racket when she was beaten by Germany’s Annika Beck. There was none of that yesterday.
Against world No 119 Maryna Zanevska, Watson managed a 6-1, 7-6 win, surviving a second-set fightback by the Belgian and joining Jo Konta in the second round.
‘I said a few weeks ago that I feel like a run is bound to come soon,’ said Watson, who won in an hour and a half. ‘I feel confident in my game, that I’m playing well, that it will click soon. I just keep believing in that.
‘There’s been a change over the last couple months. I feel more settled. I have my coaching team sorted out now and I’m happy with it.
‘I feel that because of that I’ve had structure in my practices. I’ve just been enjoying all of my tennis a lot more. I want to make the most of my confidence now and keep the momentum going.’
Watson now faces world No 19 Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in the second round, but her fine form suggests her own ranking of 102 is false. Indeed, at times against Zanevska she showed form which recalled the talented starlet who took Serena Williams to the brink of defeat in 2015.
Although she relied on a wildcard to play at Wimbledon this week, Watson is looking completely at home. The same cannot be said for Robson, however.
The 23-year-old former world No 27 became the first Briton to bite the dust at Wimbledon as she lost in the first round for the third year running.
She is now 189th in the world and admitted her anger after being beaten 6-4, 6-2 by Brazilian debutant Beatriz Haddad Maia.
Haddad Maia had never won a match at Grand Slam level and this was her first visit to the All England Club, but 23 unforced errors from the former British No 1 were damning and ultimately conclusive.
It meant Robson’s run in the singles lasted only 66 minutes and she admitted afterwards: ‘I just let myself down. I didn’t feel like I played my best tennis at all out there.
‘I never really let myself get into the match. I was just a bit overwhelmed with nerves when I first got out there, then tried to play too perfect when really I didn’t need to be going for so much.
‘I felt emotional, but I was not close to tears — I was more angry at myself.’
Elsewhere on the first day of compe- tition, Naomi Broady suffered a straight- sets loss to Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu, the world No 64. Begu will now face Ana Konjuh after the promising Croat’s 6-1, 6-4 victory over 2011 finalist Sabine Lisicki of Germany.
Broady, 27 and the world No 109, was beaten 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 15 minutes and said: ‘I was confident that I could win but I knew that it would be tough.
‘It just didn’t come together for me here. It’s frustrating to not play my best.
‘That’s tennis. You can’t get subbed off when you’re not having a good day. You’ve just got to try to play through it and I did that. I didn’t find the answers to my game.’