'No difference of 600'

HEATHER WATSON has proved that her rise up the ITF senior rankings is set to be a rapid one.

The 17-year-old Sarnian star impressed again as she took world No. 133 Valerie Tetreault to three sets in the $50,000 Sagueney tournament in Canada.

Guernsey's US Junior Open champion has a senior ranking of 736.

She has yet to turn professional full time and is juggling her career with academic studies while training at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Florida.

And in an epic first round battle on Monday night with 21-year-old professional Tetreault, who is the Canadian number two, she took the first set 7-5 before just losing the two remaining sets 6-7 and 5-7.

'We had a wonderful evening and even though she lost in a match that lasted nearly 3.5 hours, it was brilliant,' said Watson's mother Michelle.

'She made a few mistakes towards the end of the match and her opponent's experience counted.

'She could have won tonight, there was certainly no difference in ranking of over 600 places between them.

'She played so well and knows what to do in the same situation next time.'

Watson junior made the main draw by going through the qualifiers. News of her qualifying for the main draw was splashed on the BBC Sport website as one of their main stories.

The Guernsey girl has attracted lots of attention in the national media since winning the US Open.