Heather Watson pulled off a huge defeat of her rival at the Australian Open Tuesday. The dramatic battle on Margaret Court Arena took a huge turn for the Brit as she shut out Samantha Stosur to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 at Melbourne Park. The highly favored Australian lost control that allowed the 25 to run away with the match in the final set.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had much luck against Stosur in the past including her loss to the Australian at the Montreal masters last season. It doesn’t get any easier for Watson who faces the world number 21 in her home country. Stosur has been trying for a major title the last 15 seasons making the round of 16 twice. She clearly carries an even chance since losing in the first-round last year which Watson has done the last three years. Both are highly skilled on the hard courts and come into the first round with an even chance despite the home advantage laying the way it does.
She made a statement right away breaking Watson in the opening game that sent cheers in the stadium. When Stosur opened serve, she smashed shots across to Watson who couldn’t get stay at a strong defense to play deep rallies. It led to a quick 2-0 lead for the Australian who was already figuring her opponent’s weaknesses.
Watson had something for her in the third as the serve began to work its way to victory and the first service hold for the Brit. She began a comeback against the popular Aussie breaking her in the fourth that had things leveled the way she wanted them. The double faults were a problem for her as she tried to iron out the first-round jitters and be a strengthened competitor. That was exactly what she became in the next pair of games taking a sizable lead after six games turning the tide in her favor.
A solid hold for Watson came in the seventh gaining a great chance at breaking Stosur and taking a hold of the match. She was unable to do so against the Aussie but when the serve returned to her hands, she got it done on her first match point completing the set in 33 minutes. Despite having two double faults, Watson had a solid second serve that was used to create problems for Stosur. The 32-year-old had 14 unforced errors with most coming on her second service.
Stosur came into the second set fighting to gain some momentum of her own. Though she had to battle on deuce, the home country watched as she held service forcing Watson to respond for better or worse. Stosur watched the second serve worsen for the Brit as well as an increase of errors on the forehand. It gave the Aussie a 3-1 lead that had the majority Australian crowd yelling for their countrywoman to fight on.
She began to see adversity as Watson got on the board and gained another to keep the thought of an upset alive. Stosur brought Watson to a halt growing to a 4-2 lead. The seventh became a fight for both as Stosur got into a deuce draw with the British youth. The two extended the draw for some time leading it to become the longest game of the match. On the sixth break, Stosur held on just enough to get a line drive winner across the net bringing an end and a 5-2 hold. The 24-year-old was on the verge of defeat while serving to Stosur who carried so much positive force. It took its toll on Watson who struggled but kept the set alive.
It was soon brought to an end by Stosur who knew a third set would come into action but that a stance to end the second was necessary. The Aussie earned applause from her countrymen and women completing the 6-3 score that took 54 minutes.
The fight for dominance ensued in the final set with both ladies tugging away at the first game. Watson pushed and pulled the ball during the rallies that saw her on deuce with the five foot nine Stosur. The two pushed the opening game of the third set near 10 minutes but in the end, it was Watson who came out with the hold of serve. She found a new gear while on the break to win one from the Aussie creating a gap.
It was soon a 3-0 margin that Stosur knew had to be stopped. She got into a strategy of creating ground strokes that sent Watson from end to end. The problem came when the Brit began using the same strategy pushing the two to fight it out on deuce. Five breaks elapsed with Watson protesting that she had the advantage when Stosur swung at the ball and missed.
Despite the correction by the line judge and a review on hawk eye, the advantage never swung Watson’s way pressing the game forward. The game went to an astonishing eighth break before Watson clenched her fist in victory capturing the coveted break point. Things went slightly easier for her in the fifth where her service hold was challenged for one break but walked away with a fifth straight win.
Stosur had everything to lose being down by so many games as her performance slowly dwindled leaving Watson every chance at moving into the second round. The 25-year-old had 30-0 on Stosur but saw her come back and level the playing field. The forehand winner gave her game point but a ball wide only forced another deuce. Watson had her beaten with a good net front presence that paid off huge gaining match point. It came on an eight-shot rally that had Stosur behind the baseline taking a final shot that didn’t make it over the net.
The 25-year-old Brit took the match against Stosur so well despite the tremendous adversities both felt on court. Aside from the weather, both players combined for 12 aces, seven double faults (five were Watson’s) and 70 unforced errors which Stosur made nearly 50 of them in the 2 hour and 15-minute marathon.
“I’m very pleased with today,” Watson told Renae Stubbs after the match. “Sam is a great player and she’s beaten me both times so I knew it was going to be tough but I felt that I prepared really well for today felt really fit in the final set and the atmosphere was great.”
She’ll hope for more of the same atmosphere that she had on Margaret Court Arena before facing the winner between Jennifer Brady and Johanna Larsson.
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