Ask most tennis players about their tactical approach to matches, and the answer tends to run something like this: “I’ll play my own game out there, focus on what I’ve been doing in training and stay aggressive.”
Not so Heather Watson. A keen student of the game, analysis of her opponents and adaptation mid-match is one of her key weapons. While others try and clear their heads to play their best tennis, the world No.49’s mind is racing once the competition begins.
“I’m a player that is always thinking on court,” Watson said. “I don’t play one certain way, I play my opponent. As soon as I figure my opponent out – I get the feel of their shots, where they like to serve, how they’re playing me – I adjust and then settle in.”
There’s certainly evidence to support that theory in Hobart. Having won eight of the last nine games from 4-5 down in the first set against Magdalena Rybarikova, Watson produced Tuesday’s performance of the day against No.5 seed Sloane Stephens, weathering a tricky start before running away with nine of the last 10 games in a 6-4 6-1 victory.
Stephens was quick to pay credit to Watson for a masterful performance. “I didn’t give it to her, she played a good match,” the American admitted. “There wasn’t anything in my game that was bad, she just played a little bit better than me.”
Watson now holds a 4-0 win-loss record over the former Australian Open semi-finalist. “Certain players match up better against other players,” she admitted. “Top players can struggle against players who are lower ranked just because their game doesn’t match up.”
But never before had the result been so emphatic, and rarely has Watson’s game fired so well in all departments. It’s been a long road back for the Briton, who spent 2014 climbing the rankings after missing most of the previous season recovering from glandular fever.
On her return, Watson made the switch from life as a counterpuncher to a more aggressive, first-strike game. Stephens certainly felt the full force, with Watson firing winners off both wings and sneaking into the net to finish off points with great success, something that was rarely an option during her defensive days.
“I love coming into the net, I feel very comfortable there,” Watson said, admitting she is rediscovering her best form heading into the Australian Open.
“I saw glimpses of it last year in a couple of the ITF tournaments that I won,” she added. “This is how I want to play consistently. I don’t want to be up and down, I want to try and maintain this level – I’ll have to do that not just on the court but mentally as well.”
Her early season preparation for Melbourne is ramping up nicely. After encounters with Alize Cornet and Agnieszka Radwanska while on HOpman Cup duty with Great Britain – “I lost pretty straight-forward – they both played very, very well” – Watson beat Hobart’s top seed Casey Dellacqua before making the trip to Tasmania.
“Going into that match against Casey, I really wanted to get a win under my belt in the singles,” she said. A week later, she now has three – two against higher-ranked opponents. Not a bad return from her five singles matches to date.
Still alive in the doubles draw with Ajla Tomljanovic, Watson faces No.9 seed Roberta Vinci for a place in the semi-finals on Thursday. The crafty Italian will pose a different challenge on another blustery day at the Domain Tennis Centre, but on the back of three sparkling performances Watson will arrive with her confidence sky-high.
Can she replicate her display against Sloane? No, says Watson – she can do better. “There’s always room for improvement,” she insists. Hobart, consider yourself warned.