WATSON CONQUEROR KONTAVEIT GETS A LITTLE HOME HELP

HEATHER WATSON showed glimpses of the talent and grit that took her to the brink of beating Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2015, but ultimately found an Estonian coached by Andy Murray’s father-in-law too stern a test. Anett Kontaveit beat Watson 7-5, 6-1 and, while that means Britain’s representation is trimmed by one, the home crowd could adopt the victor as an honorary native. Kontaveit was cheered on by Nigel Sears, father of Murray’s wife Kim, and speaks English in an accent that would not sound out of place at Buckingham Palace. She puts that down to having a group of British girls as friends since she was 14 and an addiction to Made In Chelsea, the poshest reality show on TV. Watson, Britain’s No 2, was backed boisterously by the Court 1 crowd but could not match the precision of Kontaveit’s groundstrokes. Kontaveit, who has risen rapidly in the rankings from outside the top 100 in 2016, made round three in each of the last two years but looks primed to advance further on this occasion. The world No 20 overcame a shaky start to accelerate to victory. Sears, who has guided Amanda Coetzer, Daniela Hantuchova and Ana Ivanovic into the top ten, began working with Kontaveit a year ago and sees similar potential to his previous charges in the 23-year-old from Tallinn. ‘I started a bit nervous but I felt like I was getting better with each game,’ said Kontaveit. On her relationship with Sears, she added: ‘It is going well. I am pleased with the way he sees things. The goal is to be more consistent, get my first serve a bit better and know where and how to hit my second serve.’ Watson, who will play ladies doubles with Mandy Minella and mixed with Henri Kontinen, felt only frustration. ‘I had so many chances but wasn’t able to play aggressive tennis,’ she said. ‘I went on the back foot and made too many errors. After that first set, she relaxed and stepped up her level and didn’t give me a look-in at all.’ Watson started with vim and broke Kontaveit in the first game. But she gave up the first set when being broken to love at 6-5 down and seemed to lose heart. The second set was much more one-sided as Watson lost it 6-1.