Heather Watson through to Wimbledon second round after three-sets win over Caroline Garcia
- Heather Watson battled back from a set down to beat Caroline Garcia
- Watson prevailed 1-6, 6-3, 8-6 against the No 32 seed in the first round
- Match resumed on Tuesday after bad light stopped play on Monday
Heather Watson clawed her way back from the precipice in a gutsy, sweary win that sent French seed Caroline Garcia heading for the exit - then danced a jig of victory as the only British woman through to the second round.
World No 59 Watson, 23, saved three match points against world No 33 Garcia, 21, before triumphing 1-6, 6-3, 8-6. She also received a code violation for loudly berating herself as ‘F***ing stupid’ for failing to capitalise on chances to close the match sooner.
But after fellow Britons Johanna Konta, Naomi Broady and Laura Robson had left her as the last home woman standing, Watson was delighted to progress.
Heather Watson is through to the second round of Wimbledon after beating Caroline Garcia in three sets
Watson was all smiles as she won the final set in over an hour on Tuesday afternoon on court 12
Garcia (right) congratulates Watson on her win - with the Brit set to face Daniela Hantuchova in round two
The 23-year-old battled back from a set behind to win 1-6, 6-3, 8-6 against the Wimbledon No 32 seed
Watson poses for this selfie alongside GB team-mate Laura Robson, who was dumped out on Tuesday
‘I thought for a second that it maybe wasn't meant to be this time,’ she said. ‘I thought “No matter what, if she wants this match, she's going a have to win it, I'm not going to give it to her”.’
All the match points happened on Watson’s serve in the 10th game of the deciding set. She did not realise until afterwards she had faced three. She thought it was two.
‘I just stuck in there,’ she said. ‘Before I knew it, it was my turn to close the match. I had quite a few chances leading up to that point to break in two of her service games. Then I was serving out the match. You know, it was tense.’
The code violation was delivered after Watson spurned the chance to convert two break points in the seventh game of the third set and swore at herself.
’It happened, and I just had to deal with it,’ she said. ‘I wasn't going to let that ruin any of my chances to win this match.’
After getting her warning she slapped herself on the thigh, hard. Explaining her state of mind afterwards, she said: ‘You know what, I don't even feel it when I do it. There's always a bit of a red mark after. It's the heat of the moment.’
Watson lunges for the ball as she tries to keep her hopes alive at Wimbledon during the first round
Watson clenches her fist in celebration of winning a point during the third set on Tuesday afternoon
On her swearing she added: ‘Yeah, I say things that I shouldn't say. I apologise to anybody that's offended. I need to control it, and I just can’t.’
Except she did get herself back under control, impressively so in that 10th game. Garcia set up the first two match points with a service return winner for 15-40. Watson’s aggressive play contributed to Garcia hitting the next point into the net and the following point long. Deuce.
Watson then went to advantage with a blistering forehand winner at the end of a ferocious rally, but Garcia set up a third match point with two more winners. It was saved when Garcia netted and Watson went on to hold.
The pair traded three breaks of serve to move the score to 7-6 in favour of Watson, who double-faulted on her first match point at 40-0 but kept serving strongly and forced a long return to seal the match.
Watson’s parents, Michelle and Ian, are at the tournament with her, as well as her paternal gran, Jean. In recent years Watson has actively encourage her relatives to stay away in the early stages.
After this win she said having them here: ‘Just makes Wimbledon so much more exciting for me. I love them here watching and supporting me...'
‘When you're back on those practice courts in some country just training hard, whatever, and it's not easy. For moments like this, it makes it all worth it.’
The 23-year-old shows her deftness of touch at the net with a backhand volley
Garcia hits a forehand during the third set of her first round encounter against Watson
The last and only time her grandmother had been to Wimbledon was for last year’s second-round match against Angelique Kerber of Germany, which Watson lost in three sets.
‘She watched me last year play against Kerber on Centre Court and she said it was the best day of her life,’ Watson said.
Watson now faces Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova, the world No 72. They have met just once before, at last year’s Australian Open. The 32-year-old Hantuchova, a Wimbledon quarter-finalist in 2002, won that first-round match in three sets.
Watson faces a potential match with women’s tournament favourite Serena Williams in the third round but insists she is not getting ahead of herself. ‘All I'm thinking about is my next match,’ she said. ‘Daniela Hantuchova has been at the top of the game. She plays very well on grass. So it definitely won't be easy.’
As the British No 1, Watson can expect a rousing show court reception against Hantuchova, not the periphery of Court No 12 where she ended up by scheduling issues for her opener.
Asked if that had annoyed her, she said: ’I’m not complaining about anything right now!’
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