finally
Heather Watson reaches fourth round of Wimbledon for first time EVER as Brit delivers best Grand Slam performance of career and dreams of quarter-final
Heather Watson has reached the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time in her career.
The former British no.1, currently ranked 109th in the world, beat Kaja Juvan in straight sets (7-6, 6-2), to finally get past the third round of a Grand Slam.
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With current British no.1 and US Open champion Emma Raducanu suffering an early exit in the second round, slim hopes of glory at the All England club have turned to Watson and Katie Boulter.
Watson recently admitted she reached an 'all-time low' at Wimbledon last year after squandering match points on Court One to suffer a first-round exit against Kristie Ahn.
"After my match here last year on Court One, that was an all-time low for me," she said on Wednesday.
“Coming back, I was so happy I could change the outcome and narrative this year.”
And on Friday, the 30-year-old reached the highest point of her career so far with a crowd-pleasing triumph on Court One.
Watson will now go on to face world no.97 Jule Niemeier in the next round, entertaining very real hopes of reaching unchartered quarter-final territory.
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Watson won the mixed-doubles title at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships - the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title in 25 years.
But it has been a topsy-turvy singles career that - until now - had never seen her progress past the third round of any major tournament.
Now though, she has finally made it to the fourth round at her home venue - banking £190,000 in the process.
Slovenian Juvan - who is currently ranked 40 places above Watson - was a dangerous opponent who had beaten the highly-fancied Beatriz Haddad Maia in round one.
But the 21-year-old folded after Watson edged a nerve-filled first-set tie-break, while the confident Briton won 11 consecutive points as she raced into a 5-0 lead in the second.
There was a Watson-esque wobble at the end - she admitted as much afterwards - but she got over the line with her first match point after five deuces, before collapsing to the turf in delight.
"It wouldn't be me if there wasn't a bit of drama at the end," she said court-side after the best win of her career.
"And wow, what an atmosphere. There is nowhere I would rather be and you guys got me over the line.
"I felt she was playing her best tennis at the end. I wasn't that nervous. But fourth round for the first time, I'm so happy."
Fellow Brit Boulter will now try to join Watson in the fourth round when she faces Harmony Tan on Saturday.
Watson will face Germany's Niemeier on Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals.
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