Tennis Discussion Thread

it was great to see the bully getting bullied by a woman half her size. heather Watson could the female version of tim henman.

Does anyone else think Heather Watson is rather cute?

I know I do!

Undoubtedly an outstanding performance by Heather Watson, playing way above her ranking. What the match also showed however is what she needs to move up a level. Shes learnt to win games, now she needs to learn to win matches against the better players. Thats the difference between champions and also rans.Serena Williams or any of the top 10 or 15 players having got 2 breaks in the final set would have put that game to bed, but Williams even being 3-0 down showed a champions mentality and refused to be beaten.

^saying that the long 4th game of the 3rd set was key, had Heather got out of it and went 4-0 up she would have won. To the poster who said Heather was a glorified spectator I would suggest they take the Serena tinted glasses off

(03-07-2015 20:23 )Black Cat Wrote:  Does anyone else think Heather Watson is rather cute?

I know I do!

Totally!

She deserved the standing ovation at the end and I don't think Serena was in any way disrespectful by walking off at the end so Heather could enjoy the moment even thought she lost.
What Heather needs to realise after getting over that defeat is that now that she knows she can compete with some top players ranked way above her and going out there and believing that even if she lost she could make it quite hard for whoever is facing her.
It would be nice if by the end of the year she is somewhere maybe in the top 30 and makes 2016 the year to probably break into the top 20.

She reminds me a lot of Jo Durie with her gutsy performances.

(03-07-2015 18:45 )setter1000 Wrote:  Got to be honest I thought it was all about Serena.
When Serena executed her shots she won the point when she misconnected the ball went out or hit the net. I thought Heather was a glorified spectator watching Serena playing against herself so to speak. For Watson to really challenge the best she will have to increase the power of her serves and ground strokes. Otherwise she wil have to rely on captilising on her opponents mistakes.

So Serena is so rubbish she makes so many mistakes that she nearly loses a 3-set match? Well, it's a viewpoint, I guess...

well done to Heather for getting so far, and after Jo's heroics last week, arguably one of the better fortnights for British women's tennis in quite a long time

Heather's nerves may have not helped, a lot of her first serves were poor - I thought when she drew Serena it would have been over in 2 sets and was pleased to be wrong. Heather stood level and should have won having Sarena on the ropes for most of the second site and half of the last, this will only help her to improve.

Now we have the yawn fest of a Williams double act - the only saving grace is that it's not the final!

@Biggles
I agree. Who cares which Williams sister wins unless you have money riding on it.
Strangely enough I called up 365 wanting the odds on Serena to beat Watson yesterday when she 0-30 up but 3-0 down In the final set and they were willing to give 8-11. That's incrediblely short odds against Serena considering she was 2 breaks down. Bookies sure know what they are doing.Heather Watson has a bright future but must add power to her game and acquire the art of putting her player away.

Watson will learn from the experience against Serena.
Had she been up against most other top players her form would have been sufficient to beat them.
But Williams has vast experience and knowledge of how to come through in clutch situations especially in tight three setters. A twenty time slam winner remember.
The reality is that Watson does not have enough experience of pushing the top players in Grand Slam tournaments because her ranking dictates that she fails to go deep enough into regular tournament play to allow regular matches against the best players in the world.
Once she sustainably improves and justifies her ranking over the long term she will be better at closing out matches even against the better players on a consistent basis.