Heather Watson plays in her 43rd major tournament and reached the fourth round in a major for the first time in singles; the 30-year-old will face Jule Niemeier then in the singles draw and will return to the court later at the All England Club to play doubles with Harriet Dart.
By Emma Thurston
Last updated: 7/1/22 10:02 PM
Heather Watson is making her 12th appearance at the Wimbledon Championships
Britain’s Heather Watson reaches the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time in her career after a 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 victory over Kaja Juvan.
The Briton worked hard to take the first set and then knock her opponent off the court for much of the second set.
The first time Watson tried to serve the game, he broke down, before calming his nerves and going through a long final game, with five deuces to take his first game point.
“First, it wouldn’t be me if there wasn’t some drama at the end,” the 30-year-old told the court. “Wow, what an atmosphere, there’s no place I’d rather play. You’ve outdone me.
“I’m very happy. Thanks to my team for pushing me and being with me through it all. Playing here at home, the atmosphere is everything. Please come back all in my fourth round!”
Watson will face Jule Niemeier next in the singles draw, but before that, he will return to the court on Friday to play doubles with Harriet Dart.
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This victory in the third round marks a historic moment in the 30-year-old’s career, as he had never reached that point on a high level previously in singles.
Watson made his individual championship debut in 2010 and five years later, he served for the third round match against Serena Williams.
He was then unable to cross the line and this time on track number 1, Watson also found serving for the match a challenge.
Match statistics
Heather Watson Kaja Juvan 2 Aces 1 2 Double fouls 5 58% First service in% 50% 74%% victory in first service 55% 47%% victory in second service 52% 17/27 Net points earned 23/11 4 / 6 Break points earned 2/8 31 Winners 27 19 Unforced errors 21 76 Total points earned 62
An even first set was decided with a tie-break, in which Watson needed four set points to get it. After that, the British rose again while the Juvan, number 62 in the world, disappeared.
Watson didn’t need a second invitation to punish her and before the final games, he had all the answers. However, with the 5-0, Juvan started to spin freely through the ball again and denied Watson an easy route above the line.
At the big points, Watson found his places with his first serve and continued to combine excellent power from behind with deft lobes and clutch volleys.
An elongated final game put Watson’s team through, but the 30-year-old finally created a game point and grabbed it with both hands.
“I wouldn’t play yet if I thought the ship had sailed,” Watson added later. “I’m very happy to be in the second week of a singles Grand Slam, finally.”
Jabeur was quarterfinal of last year’s Championship
Elsewhere in the draw, Ons Jabeur sent a message of intent with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Diane Parry, which lasted just 68 minutes on the center court.
The third seed highlighted the variety he has within his game and will face Elise Mertens in the fourth round. Mertens beat former champion Angelique Kerber 6-4 7-5.
A match on track 2 gave the shock of the day as Tatjana Maria defeated fifth seed Maria Sakkari 6-3 7-5.
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At 34, Maria is the biggest German player in the Open Era who reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament.
Maria will face 12th favorite Jelena Ostapenko, who was the first woman to advance to the fourth round, after her 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 defeat to Irina Begu.
Williams returns winner alongside Murray
Venus Williams and Jamie Murray
Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams returned to Grand Slam action Friday night with victory alongside Jamie Murray in mixed doubles.
The 42-year-old retired in the second round of the singles at Wimbledon last year and has only played one other game since then, prompting talk of retirement.
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But a surprise wildcard announcement earlier in the week saw the American return to the London turf and team up with Murray, three years since his brothers Serena Williams and Andy Murray paired up at SW19.
And a 6-3 6-7 (3) 6-3 win over Michael Venus and Alicja Rosolska ensured the pair continued to wave the family flag at Wimbledon after Andy and Serena left the singles early.
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