Watson selected to represent GB

HEATHER WATSON will represent Great Britain in the 2009 European Junior Championships.

The 17-year-old Sarnian, who is currently the highest ranked British junior in the world at number 12, and Samantha Vickers have been selected to play in the prestigious tournament in Villach, Austria, next week.

The competition accepts only a few nominations from each country. It begins on Monday and runs until Sunday.

The British pair will be playing in both doubles and singles events on clay courts against top European juniors from more than 32 countries.

'This has been a great honour for Heather and I am sure that she will rise to the challenge, despite not playing on her preferred surface,' said Watson's mother, Michelle.

Competing in this Grade B1 event will also help Watson gain greatly sought after ITF ranking points, which in turn will aid her entry into the main draw of the US Junior Open in September.

Another of Watson's main aims this season is to get onto the senior women's world ranking ladder.

To do so she needs to play in three senior tournaments and win at least two matches in each of the main draws.

She is not far from achieving this goal, having successfully won matches in both the Jersey Open and the Aegon Pro-Series in Felixstowe last week.