SNATCHING VICTORY From Jaws of Defeat
Brit Continues Comeback @ Midland:
Heather Watson Overcomes 1-4 Deficit, Wins Dow Corning Classic Singles
February 16, 2014
By: Dave Rogers
Heather Watson in an athletic maneuver on the court.
Talk about a turnaround!
Since losing a close three set match to Daniela Hantuchova in the first round of the Australian Open, Britain's Heather Watson has been unbeatable.
The 21-year-old Brit, playing out of Bradenton, Florida, beat Russia's Ksenia Pervak 6-4 6-0 in the Dow Corning Classic at Midland to extend her unbeaten run to nine matches since the Australian Open loss.
And, the win gave her the $15,000 top singles prize in the $100,000 tourney.
The unseeded 21-year-old's win in the ITF (International Tennis Federation) event in Midland follows four straight Fed Cup victories for Great Britain last week.
Watson's world ranking is expected to rise about 40 places from her current world ranking of 161. She has been ranked as high as 39.
A native of Guernsey in the Channel Islands, Watson, who had not dropped a set in Michigan, got off to a bad start against Pervak in Sunday's final and trailed 4-1 in the opening set.
But a run of 11 games in a row saw her clinch victory in what was described by the British news media as one of the biggest tournaments on the ITF circuit.
Along the way she got a lucky break: three net cords that dribbled over for points that could have gone the other way. "That's tennis," exclaimed Mike Woody, tournament director.
Watson had to fight back from glandular fever that set her back in 2013 and dropped her ranking to 161 in the world. Now, the British star seems to have overcome both the fever and her precipitous fall in the rankings.