Wimbledon Day 3 - Dazzling Watson Into Round 3

The bigger the stage the bigger the performance from Britain’s number one Heather Watson, who competed for the third day in succession in the blazing heat at Wimbledon’s All England Club.

Heather Watson after her 2nd round win

There was enough pressure on the 23 year old who continues to carry the weight of being the country’s leading female player. Last week Watson announced that she had recently received some offensive twitter messages on social media which she has since learnt to ignore. There was certainly nothing to ignore about her performance on the court as she reached the 3^rd round of a Grand Slam for only the second time in her career.   

Beating world number 72 Daniela Hantuchova in round two was easier said than done. Back in 2002 the Slovak was ranked as high as five in the world and reached the last eight here, even so a repeat of that run never looked on the cards.

13 places separated Watson from her opponent in the WTA world rankings and the British number one made every one look like a milestone in a convincing 6-4 6-2 victory.

It was another step up from the determined fighting tennis which helped the Brit beat 32^nd seed Caroline Garcia in round one. In comparison this was a more confident and dominant display which will be rewarded with a third round match up with world number one Serena Williams.

That match will almost certainly be on Centre Court and will act as an indicator that Watson is within touching distance from the very top of the women’s game. Another step up this will undoubtedly be, but don’t forget her victory over Garcia came on the suburbs of court 12, today’s latest chapter occurred on the realms of court 1.

In truth Hantuchova didn’t have an answer to Watson’s superior movement and more athletic game. The Slovak may have dealt the first blow when she broke the Watson serve in the fourth game of the match to lead 3-1; however the response from the Brit was both prompt and rewarding as she turned the tables to take the set 6-4.

It was not only the aggression, but the consistency of it which was the most impressive factor in Watson’s performance. Her attacks were measured and planned, as she began to extract errors from Hantuchova’s game.

After a break of serve each at the start of the second, Watson was quick to hit the accelerator and race for the line. At 5-1 her performance appeared compete, when she served out the match a game later it soon was. Things only get bigger from here but Watson has proved she can rise to the challenge.    

Earlier in the day Britain’s Liam Broady, who recorded a memorable five set victory on day one, lost to the 16^th seed David Goffin from Belgium. After a tight and competitive first set, Broady couldn’t match his more experienced opponent who prevailed 7-6 (7-3)6-1 6-1.

Elsewhere in the men’s draw top seed Novak Djokovic came through in straight sets against 33 year old Jarkko Nieminen who was competing in his last ever Wimbledon. There were also wins for Stan Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic while Marin Cilic needed five sets to get past Ricardas Berankis. However fifth seed Kei Nishikori was unable to take to the court against Santiago Giraldo and was forced to withdraw with a calf injury.

In the women’s draw there were straight set victories for both Venus and Serena Williams along with Maria Sharapova who joined them in the third round.