For Heather Watson the prospect of facing her childhood idol Serena Williams for the first time in the third round at Wimbledon on Friday would appear to be no more daunting than the likely consequences of an unlikely victory there: a fourth-round match against her sister, Venus.
Venus, not for the first time, is in her sister’s quarter of the draw and must beat the Serbian Aleksandra Krunic to play either Serena or Watson, whom she beat the only time they met, in Beijing last year, 6-3, 6-1.
Double-Williams: that’s quite a challenge for Watson, but, when asked if the more immediate task against the younger and considerably more dangerous of the two brilliant sisters was the biggest match of her career, the British No 1 was encouragingly relaxed.
“Don’t know,” she said. “Haven’t really thought of it like that. I just really look forward to playing her. Draws are funny like that. Sometimes you can play the same person three weeks in a row, and then you might not play one person for maybe three years. She is a great champion and a legend in the game, so it will be a great experience for me – and where better for me to play her than here at Wimbledon?”
Watson has gone this deep after a fighting come-from-behind win over Caroline Garcia – the French player identified a few years ago by Andy Murray as one to watch – and an even more impressive 6-4, 6-2 victory over the Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova on Wednesday. It has buoyed her occasionally flagging spirits. Serena, the world No1 and obvious favourite, gave up just five games to the Russian qualifier Margarita Gasparyan then beat the Hungarian Timea Babos by the same margin. She has not been remotely stretched yet.
Watson said she first became aware of the Williams sisters on her initial visit to Wimbledon as a child.
“It was when I came to Wimbledon and I bought two posters. I was like seven or eight years old. One was Venus and Serena together and one was Roger Federer. Those were the three players that I liked. They went straight up on my wall.”
She next saw Serena at Nick Bollettieri’s academy in Florida. “When I was 12 or 13 at school there it was a big thing for her to come and train, so all of our teachers let us out of school to go and watch her practise and play. We were just hundreds of us schoolkids there. I don’t know if she signed autographs there. And now I might get the opportunity to play her, and it’s really exciting. When people that don’t know much about tennis find out I play tennis, one of the first questions is: ‘Have you played Serena?’ And I’m like: ‘No – but I have played Venus.’”
Watson says she does not know either of them socially, adding: “Yeah I would say hello – but I say hello to everybody!”
As for Serena’s legendary regal presence in the locker room, Watson said: “I always find I don’t see her that much. I don’t know what time she practises. Some people you see all the time, but I hardly see her. But she does have a presence about her. She is a strong woman, and even if she wasn’t a tennis player she would have a presence.”
All of that will count for nothing at all when they confront each other on Friday. Watson has had stretches of form this year that promised more than they delivered. Playing at Wimbledon might well provide a significant edge to her game but she will do well just to stay in the contest with one of the greatest players of all time.
Serena is not just No1 of this and many other years, and of her era, but a contender for consideration at the very peak of her sport. Watson will hardly admit beforehand that the privilege of playing her would be enough for her, but, on balance, that is not a bad result.
And she would likely prefer this match against a legend than a softer one in another part of the draw.
