Watson into San Salvador main draw

HEATHER WATSON, currently playing in San Salvador, has been boosted by a gift from the club at which she grew up. Kings have given her £3,000 to help cover the costs of playing in two tournaments in South America.

A delighted Ian Watson, Heather's father, said the family were very grateful to Kings for their help in assisting their daughter in what they see as an important year in her development.

He said: '2007 is a critical year for Heather. She has to play in tournaments to earn points towards a world ranking. The aim this year is to qualify for Junior Wimbledon in July.

'Those tournaments cost around £1,500 each when you factor in travel, hotels, the cost of entering the tournament itself and all the extra little costs it generally adds up to this sort of level.

'We get a small financial donation each year from the LTA which goes towards Heather's schooling at the Nick Bollettieri Academy. Paying for tournaments is another matter.'

Kings managing director Mark Shaw said: 'It's fantastic to see Heather doing so well and we know that she has been working very hard.

'We would like to think that there are other companies in Guernsey that might want to sponsor Heather for a particular tournament.

'We are certainly going to be putting the idea around some of our business partners over the next couple of months to see if we can pay for a few more tournaments.

'The Watson family have been active members of the club for many years and it seems appropriate that we now have an opportunity to help.'

Shaw said that everyone at Kings had their fingers and toes crossed for the player's trip this week to Central America where she will be aiming to do well in the HSBC Cup in San Salvador. Watson came through the qualifiers safely enough, beating American Elizabeth Begley 6-3, 6-4 and then Costa Rica's Camila Quesada 6-1, 6-2.

Those wins have put her through to the main draw of 32 where she will play Puerto Rican Paola Calderon.

The British under-14 champion then goes direct to the Costa Rica Bowl Tournament in San Jose in early March.