Watson prepared to take lower route back to top 100
HEATHER WATSON will attempt to overcome the crushing disappointment of not qualifying for this year’s US Open by focusing on improving her singles ranking.
The 27-year old Sarnian lost 6-4, 6-2 to the world 202 Mariam Bolkvadze, of Georgia, last Wednesday, a result that ensured her absence from the main draw in New York for the first time since she turned professional 10 years ago.
Ironically that defeat came just 48 hours after publication of the latest set of world rankings, with Watson rising nine places to 101 courtesy of her excellent form at the ITF Vancouver tournament the previous week, winning five matches without losing so much as a single set on her way to clinching the title.
‘Sometimes it just doesn’t happen and, unfortunately, that was one of those times,’ said Watson of her defeat to Bolkvadze.
‘It’s tough because of what happened there [in Vancouver]. I was playing well, moving well, felt confident, gained confidence with every win and never felt I was out of any match, even when I was behind. You get times like that when it all comes together and all the hard work pays off.
‘You’ve got to stay positive. I’m going the right way in the rankings. That’s my priority, improving my ranking so I don’t have to go through qualies for the [Grand] Slams.’
With that in mind, Watson is set to continue doing what she did during the opening months of 2019 – playing tournaments at a lower level on the women’s tour with the aim of restoring confidence and collecting more ranking points.
That tactic paid dividends in the wake of a demoralising 6-1, 6-2 first round defeat to Petra Martic at the Australian Open in January, her road trip around some of the backwaters of the tennis circuit building to a climax when she won the Fukuoka ITF tournament in Japan in May.
‘I’ve been in this position before, so I know what I have to do,’ added Watson. ‘That’s one advantage of having been out there now for 10 years – you know what you have to do when the going gets tough.
‘As soon as you get that one win, it can all kick off. That’s what happened there [in Fukuoka]. That’s what happened in Vancouver. It breeds confidence. It’s like a domino effect, winning and losing. It can go either way.’
Watson is likely to slip down the world rankings over the next few weeks having not qualified for the US Open main draw.
However, if she can subsequently climb back inside the top 100 before the end of 2019, then that should be enough to guarantee automatic entry to the Australian Open in Melbourne next January.
