Heather Watson maintained British interest in the ladies’ singles after beating Daniela Hantuchova in straight sets on No.1 Court on Wednesday.
On what was officially the hottest ever day at The Championships, the 23-year-old from Guernsey kept her cool to go through 6-4, 6-2 just 24 hours after saving three match points to beat No.32 seed Caroline Garcia in round one.
The result means Watson is into the third round at Wimbledon for the second time in her career after winning two Main Draw matches in 2012. The British No.1 will play either world No.1 Serena Williams or Timea Babos in her next outing on Friday.
It was the 32-year-old Slovakian, a former quarter-finalist at Wimbledon back in 2002, who made the better start in stifling heat on Wimbledon’s second biggest show court.
The world No.72 kept her opponent on the back foot with some big hitting from the baseline and quickly opened up a 3-1 lead.
Back came Watson, though, gradually finding her rhythm and range. The world No.59 rattled off four successive games to build a 5-3 advantage and moments later the first set was in the bag.
I feel like I played better today. I hit more winners...
Watson, who won the second WTA title of her career in Hobart in January, carried her momentum into the second set, and more solid stuff from the back helped her to an early break.
When she came through a long fifth game on Hantuchova’s serve to go up 4-1 with a double break, the finish line was in sight.
A comfortable hold took her to 5-1, and although Hantuchova extended her stay for a few minutes more by clinging on to her next service game, Watson held her nerve to make it two wins in two days.
"I wasn't making many first serves at the beginning, and she was really attacking my second serve. I didn't feel that I was winning a lot of points off of it," Watson said. "Then like halfway through that first set, I seemed to find my serve. I thought it just kept getting better as the match went on.
"I thought I played a lot better today. I hit the ball a lot harder. I was a lot more aggressive. Served well. That's how I need to play if I want to win matches like that. Against somebody like Daniela, if I'm just going to make the ball, she's going to put it away."
Looking ahead to her next challenge on Friday, Watson said she can't wait to get back on court, potentially against the best player in the world.
"I've never played Serena before, so I'd love to play her," she said. "But she's obviously a very, very tough opponent. But I feel like in matches like that, you've got a lot to gain, so it's a real positive as well to play her."
