An aggressive Heather Watson continues to punch above her weight on Australian soil and is emerging as a potential threat for Melbourne Park.
Britain’s world No.49 cruised to a 6-3 6-1 win at the Hobart International on Tuesday against America’s Sloane Stephens, who sits 15 rungs higher in the rankings.
“I didn’t do much wrong: I served well, returned well and didn’t make many unforced errors and stayed aggressive,” Watson said of her 64-minute victory.
Stephen’s hard-hitting baseline play failed against Watson’s attacking approach.
“I love coming into the net, I feel very comfortable there and I’m working on being aggressive,” Watson said.
“I thought to myself `no matter what happens in the match, I’m going to stay aggressive from the first point to the last’.
“It’s how I want to play consistently. I don’t want to be up and down. I want to try and maintain this level and I think I’ll have to do that, not just on the court but mentally as well.”
As Stephens turns her focus to the Australian Open, she acknowledged Watson’s form.
“She was really solid on the serve. I didn’t give it to her, she played a good match,” the American said.
“It was just a tough day and sometimes you have those. Disappointing, but I’m looking forward to the Australian Open.”
Watson was never in doubt on Tuesday after finding a 5-3 break in the first set.
The former US Open junior champion progresses to a quarter-final meeting with Italy’s world No.44 Roberta Vinci.
Watson refused to bite when quizzed about her potential to win the Hobart tournament.
“I’m just looking at my next match … I never think about winning the tournament straight away,” she said.
But Watson admits her confidence is at a high after a first-round win against world No.46 Magdalena Rybarikova.
It followed Friday’s straight-sets Hopman Cup win in Perth over Hobart tournament top seed, Casey Dellacqua of Australia.
Watson said defeating Dellacqua was an important win and came after straight-set losses in Perth to France’s world No.19 Alize Cornet and Poland’s world No.6 Agnieszka Radwanska.
Dellacqua plays her second round in Hobart on Wednesday against Italy’s Karin Knapp.
