Apologies. A major technical issue meant that we were unable to bring you this live as planned. Heather Watson won 6-4, 6-2 and we will have a report up as soon as circumstances allow.
Ah no, our servers are required to take a breather. Apologies, apologies. Here’s an interlude, featuring our old golf correspondent:
First set: Hantuchová 1-1 Watson*
Some nice old-fashioned serve-and-volley stuff from Watson, who drops elegantly over the net, then flicks away Hantuchová’s return with a tight-angled volley. A very easy hold. Both players in energy-conservation mode right now. Energy conservation could be the theme of this blog, the state of our smouldering VIC-20.
First set: Hantuchová* 1-0 Watson (*denotes server)
So now I’m getting reports that our servers are still working, with no hard drives yet to be spotted fizzing down York Way towards Kings Cross like Catherine Wheels. So let’s give this a go. Sorry to mess you around. A fairly nondescript start to the match. Three baseline rallies, Hantuchová winning two of them. An easy enough hold. Court One is quiet, the heat taking its toll. And the Pimms no doubt. Hey, we’re judging nobody.
Ah, some more breaking news, which is not so good for this blog, just as Watson and Hantuchová make it to court. We’ve got some serious server issues, so I’ve just been informed. Perhaps a fuse has melted in the heat. Ah well, we’ve all been there, done that. But that means no updates for the next 45 minutes. Here’s hoping this goes to three sets. See you soon, and many apologies for this. Please hang in there with us...
Watson and Hantuchová should be out soon. Milos Raonic has just seen off Tommy Haas in a four-set thriller. He was cruising 6-0, 6-2, but the veteran Haas raised his game to take the third set on a tie-break, then forced another tie-break in the fourth. Alas for the 37-year-old trooper, Raonic stepped on the gas at that point, and the Canadian boomed his way through to the fourth round. That was a two-and-a-half hour shift in some heat.
Preamble
While Andy Murray faffed around on Centre Court yesterday, the real great British performance of the day was staged out on Court 12. That’s where Heather Watson dug deep to save three match points at 4-5 in the final set against the No32 seed Caroline Garcia, after which Garcia’s serve crumbled, allowing the Guernsey player to close the match out 1-6, 6-3, 8-6. Here’s Jacob Steinberg’s report, all the way from SW19.
That magnificent victory’s earned Watson a shot at Daniela Hantuchová of Slovakia. At 32, it’s probably safe to say that Hantuchová’s singles career has promised more than it’s delivered. She once climbed as high as fifth in the world, but one semi-final appearance in the Australian Open is the best she’s got to show for all that effort. Still, swings and roundabouts: she’s one of only five female players to complete a career grand slam in the mixed doubles. When she looks back, she’ll sleep easily enough at night.
On paper, the experienced Hantuchová should pose Watson quite the test. She’s currently No46 in the world compared to Watson’s ranking of 64, decent on grass, and triumphed when the two met in the first round of the Australian Open last year. But Watson was on her way back from the glandular fever that laid her low in 2013, and still managed to take that one to three sets. Also, Watson’s staunch effort in seeing off the world No25 Garcia shows that progression to Wimbledon’s third round for the second time in her short career - she made it there in 2012, the first British woman in a decade to do so - is far from beyond the 23-year-old. She could do without another slow start, mind: as well as her first-round turnabout here, she successfully battled back a couple of times at Eastbourne last week, but this sort of carry-on catches up with everyone in the end.
Should she triumph today, the five-time champ Serena Williams almost certainly lies in wait. With the match of Watson’s career to date within reach, the stakes here on Court One are high. As is the temperature, which has reached 1976 on the nostalgiaometer. It’s on!
We begin once Tommy Haas and Milos Raonic have concluded their business. That one’s just gone to a fourth set, so it could be over in 20 minutes or two hours. Keep ‘em peeled!
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