Watson claims huge first-round win against teenager Caty McNally to record her first Grand-Slam victory since the French Open in 2018
Monday 1 July 2019 16:00, UK
Heather Watson led the British charge at Wimbledon by claiming a straight-sets victory over 17-year-old American Caty McNally.
Watson, playing at Wimbledon for the 10th consecutive year, sealed a fine 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victory over McNally, who was making her Grand Slam debut.
It was a much-needed win for British No 2 Watson, who lost eight straight matches between January and May before winning a second-tier title in Japan, and she had lost all three tour-level matches on grass this season.
With Watson's ranking having slipped to 122 she will now be hoping for a solid run at this, her most successful slam, having made runs to the third round in 2012, 2015 and 2017.
"I thought I got better as the match went on," said Watson. "It wasn't my best tennis, but really pleased to get through."
In a topsy-turvy opening set there were a total of eight breaks of serve with Watson having to save two set points in the 12th game before forcing it into a tie-breaker.
McNally began to spray forehand errors in blind panic allowing Watson to take advantage as the 27-year-old's confidence began to grow on Court 12.
Watson was originally given a wild card having just missed the cut-off for the main draw but withdrawals allowed her to give it back and the Guernsey player looked determined to make the most of her opportunity by playing some aggressive grass-court tennis.
She was solid on serve whilst slowly dissecting her opponent at the other end of the court, breaking through twice more, before serving out the match on her fourth match point to make it through in one hour and 41 minutes.
Watson will next meet 20th-ranked Anett Kontaveit for a place in the third round after the Estonian beat American Shelby Rogers 6-0 3-6 6-4.
"We've played each other four times. It's 2-2 in our head-to-head. I know her well. We've practised a lot together. She's having maybe the best year of her career so far," said Watson. "It will be a tough match. Every match here is tough. That goes without saying. But hopefully I can loosen up and improve my level."
