After battling her way to victory in the Acapulco Open on Sunday, Heather Watson enjoyed one extra reward this morning: a return to the top 50. That’s a brilliant achievement when you consider she’s been outside of the top 50 for almost four years.
The Guernsey-born Brit had to show all her usual brilliance and grit to overcome teenager Abierto Mexicano Telcel in the final, with one particular point – at 5-6, 30-40, in the second set – surely among the best in her career.
Watson again showed astonishing mental resilience after losing the second-set tiebreak, during which she led 6-2 to hold four match points. While many people would have collapsed in the third set, Watson went on to win it 6-1.
Watson’s performance capped off a strong week for British tennis. Kyle Edmund made it to the quarter finals of the men’s Acapulco ATP 500 tournament while Dan Evans lost out in the semi-finals of the prestigious Dubai event – defeating seeds Fabio Fognini and Andrey Rublev on the way.
It was also yet another tournament win for rising British talent Jack Draper. He lifted the Sunderland M25 title, part of the GB Pro-Series with a 6-2 6-0 defeat of Igor Sijsling.
The win takes Draper up to 316 in the men’s rankings and places him number six in the world for those under 19.