Glory beckons for Watson

Heather Watson, who has been upheld as the future of British women’s tennis since winning the Junior US Open in 2009, has shown this season she is on the brink of coming of age.

The going has been rough for Watson, since – as a plucky 17-year-old – she won her maiden slam at Flushing Meadows. 

Watson’s parents had eschewed the LTA in her tennis education, sending the Guernsey-born player to Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy in Florida aged 12, and the results spoke for themselves: a junior Commonwealth gold in 2008, US Open champion the next year and a third-placed world ranking.

Her rapid ascent was well-documented and, along with Junior Wimbledon Champion Laura Robson, Watson was swiftly branded a future star of the game, gifted with outstanding footwork and athleticism.

A win in Frinton in 2009, her inaugural ITF title, only served to confirm that a meteoric rise was underway, but commentators and the public seemed to forget just how tricky the senior tour is to crack, and such expectations were always unrealistic.

Her first WTA title at the HP Open in 2012 clinched the British No 1 ranking, but was swiftly followed by a series of injuries and a debilitating bout of glandular fever.

Coupled with Robson’s recurrent wrist issue, Britain was forced to wait for either of its rising stars to realise their potential.

Watson’s last couple of seasons have produced some spectacular highs, but also showcased some of the inconsistencies of her …

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