"The closest I came was in my match against Serena Williams in 2015; that was the first time that I really set myself this goal" - Heather Watson on reaching the 2nd week of a Major
With her first-ever professional appearance in the fourth round of a grand slam, Heather Watson has finally accomplished her long-term goal of reaching the second week of a Slam. She was one win away from doing so in 2015, but her journey was cut short by then World No. 1 Serena Williams.
She accomplished this feat by defeating Slovenia's Kaja Juvan 7-6(6), 6-2 on Court 1 in front of a skeptical audience. Afterwards, she vigorously celebrated her win by waving her arms in the air before crowching down and covering her head with her hands.
In her post-match press conference, the Brit elaborated on her most cherished goal, which she set for herself after being defeated by Serena Williams in the third round of the 2015 Wimbledon Championships. She continued by saying how pleased she feels to have overcome this obstacle.
"The only thing I was thinking about is that I was in the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time in my life, that had been my goal in the last ten years," Heather Watson said. "The closest I came was in my match against Serena in 2015, on that occasion I was only two points away from achieving it. That was the first time I really set myself this goal, I set out to reach that same second week of a Grand Slam. Now I am very proud of myself for having overcome this challenge."
We are into the second week of Wimbles!!!💜💚 https://t.co/bO6ZO253pl
Former British No. 1 Heather Watson gave Wimbledon's top seed Serena Williams a major fright before falling in a nail-biting third-round match at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships. The Brit came back from a set down to win six straight games after the second set was tied at 3-3. At 5-4 in the decider, Watson served to win the match, but Williams came back to win 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in two hours and 15 minutes.
"My preparation on the grass tour wasn't the best, I had a serious hamstring problem"- Heather Watson
The 30-year-old continued by explaining how she began her grasscourt season completely unprepared and with a significant hamstring strain. She never gave up hope, however, stating that she was taking it "day by day".
"My preparation on the grass tour wasn't the best, I had a serious hamstring problem and didn't have much shooting time before going to Eastbourne, but I wanted to play anyway," Watson said.
"I'm a player who has a lot of confidence, although I didn't expect to get that far at Wimbledon once I landed here. Simply, I was taking it day by day, with the passage of the rounds I was gaining confidence, growing. Right now I feel like I've played really well, I can't wait to play again," she added.
In order to move to the Wimbledon quarterfinals on Sunday, world No. 121 Heather Watson will square off against world No. 97 Jule Niemeier, who she beat in Monterrey back in February. Watson spared some positive words for her rival, calling her a good player.
"I didn't even know against playing my next game, I wasn't looking at the box," Watson said. "We played this year in Monterrey, she's a good player, a very good player. The ranking the truth is that I do not care much, what matters to me are the people, here everyone is playing very well. I'm glad I played with her before, now I have to process it to know how to deal with that game."
"She has a lot of talent, when we played she was still out of the top 100, but I remember telling my team that very soon we would see her in the top hundred. It will be a difficult game, she is a player of the future, so I will try to do my best," she added.