There's much more to come from Heather

HEATHER WATSON'S first-round defeat at the 45th Junior Orange Bowl Championships brought about a

collective groan at this press sports desk. Before then, the prospect of a Guernsey girl winning or making a serious challenge for arguably the biggest age-group title in international junior tennis had us readying ourselves to unleash another set of superlatives on one of the brightest prospects of local sport in the last 30 years.

Watson's early exit has, however, to be put into context.

This was an unofficial major, a championship won by so many of the greats of yesteryear.

Just to get into the main draw of 128, featuring players from nearly 50 nations, is some achievement.

Watson was seeded 12 and would have been ranked higher had she been able to play more ranking tournaments.

It is important to bear in mind the following:

1. She lost on a third-set tie-breaker to a Latvian, Alina Jerjomina, whose own run was only ended in the fourth round by the USA's Sloane Stephens who went all the way to the semi-finals.

2. Watson won through six rounds of the consolation which featured eight of the original 16 seeds and among her scalps was the top Canadian, Katarina Paliivets.

3. In the pre-Christmas Eddie Herr Classic, Paliivets took a set off the newly-crowned Junior Orange Bowl champion, Hanna Orlik from Belarus, another Sharapova in the making.

4. Last week's Mail on Sunday devoted an entire page to Britain's next star, Jessica Ren, who won the girls' 12 years title at the Junior Orange Bowl, a tournament previously won by Chrissie Evert, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne.

In winning the British under-14 national title in the summer, Watson thrashed Ren 6-1, 6-2.

The point, perhaps a shade painstaking, I try to make is that Heather Watson is STILL quite simply an outstanding talent and perhaps it will not be too long before Guernsey has its first Wimbledon competitor.