• WTA

Watson pushed to three sets again

ESPN staff
February 20, 2013
Heather Watson was taken to three sets again © Getty Images
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Heather Watson is through to the quarter-finals of the US National Indoor Tennis Championships in Memphis after another three-set victory against Andrea Hlavackova, which she won 2-6 6-0 6-3.

The British No. 1 will now play world No. 89 Stefanie Voegele but may still be feeling the effects of this match, combined with those from her three-hour marathon against Kazakhstan's Galina Voskoboeva in the first round, when she takes the court against the Swiss player.

Watson had faced Hlavackova three times prior to this encounter and headed their personal record 2-1 with the Czech player's solitary win coming in 2010.

But Hlavackova was unbreakable in the first set even though Watson had four chances to take her opponent's service game. The British No. 1 offered up only three chances to be broken on her serve yet Hlavackova was more efficient and managed to take two of them to win the first set comfortably.

Watson was either riled or had simply found her groove in the next set as her natural game came to the fore and she took the set to love, this time carving out six opportunities to break and taking three of them. She was helped by some poor serving from the 26-year-old Hlavackova on her first serve.

With the scores at 2-2 in the third set, Watson upped the ante to get the break she needed and then held serve for victory.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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