Watson aims to be Thai breaker

ONCE again, Ian Watson is an incredibly proud, but nervous dad.

The Guernsey Press spoke to him ahead of daughter Heather's match against number two seed Noppawan Lertcheewakarn in the quarter-finals of the US Junior Open Championships overnight.

'I'm very, very proud but I'm very nervous,' he said.

'She's done so well. To get to the quarter-final of a Grand Slam is just wonderful and in a Grand Slam every match is tough.

'Every girl is out there with a coach, prepared to win. There are no easy matches and it doesn't matter about their rankings.

'They are there to win.'

Watson joined fellow Briton Laura Robson, who won Junior Wimbledon in 2008, in the last eight in New York.

Watson senior believes that this could be the first time that two British junior players have reached this stage together in the Grand Slam.

And with Andy Murray surprisingly crashing out in the fourth round of the men's singles at the hands of Marin Cilic on Tuesday, the British media have turned their attention to Robson and Watson.

Watson senior said Heather is dealing with the pressure well.

'I spoke to her last night and she's in very good spirits,' he said.

'We didn't talk too much about tennis. We talked about other things. There's too much pressure without talking about it with her parents. She's been doing other things when she's off the court.'

Watson senior also said that her daughter has been having a whale of a time at Flushing Meadows.

'She does like the US Open,' he said.

'She loves the razzmatazz, the noise and the buzz. It's just Heather.

'It suits her personality.'

This is the second time that Watson junior has played at the junior US Open.