Heather Watson, who won last year's U.S. Open title, will play her first match on the Wimbledon senior circuit against Romina Sarina Oprandi of Italy. Oprandi, who favours playing on a clay surface, first came to prominence in the top tier of women's tennis when she reached the quarter-finals of a WTA Tier I event as a qualifier, only missing out on a place in the semi-finals after losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova 4–6 7–5 6–7. The Swiss born Italian subsequently made appearances at the 2006 Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, losing in the first round of each to such difficult opponents as Fransesca Schiavone, and Svetlana Kuznetsova once again. Oprandi is currently ranked number 140 in the world.
The 344th ranked Watson, who trains at the Nick Bollettieri tennis school, has just recently graduated to the women’s senior circuit full-time. Watson’s progress was surprising to many when she secured a wildcard for Wimbledon, even though she has a world junior ranking of 13 and was seeded nine in Melbourne.
The young Britishplayer will compete in the main draw at Wimbledon for the first time this year after she was given a wildcard by the All England Club. The Lawn Tennis Association offered her a wild card to Wimbledon after a successful performance at the Aegon Championships when she qualified and victoriously knocked out # 48 Aleksandra Wozniak.
"I believe that I can compete against these girls," said Watson.
The right hander’s best surface is hard court, but being a British player she will be tailoring her game for the home crowd.
"I'm really enjoying playing on grass. I think it suits my game. When I was really little, we only had astroturf courts at home in Guernsey."
In 2009, Watson made it into the top 600 world ranking, as well as to win her first senior tournament at the Frinton Open. Her steady progress throughout the past year is leading many to suggest that she is set to repeat that success on a more regular basis next year.
Watson emulated fellow Brit Laura Robson by winning a junior title with her victory at Flushing Meadow last September, but has since been building her skills on the women's tour, rising into the world's top 400 as a result.
"I'm so pleased for Heather, she's been a good player for a while and this win will really help her to believe that she has so much more success to come," said Nigel Sears, the head of women's coaching at the Lawn Tennis Association.
"Heather reminds me of Martina Hingis at that age. She is a well-balanced player who anticipates well, has great footwork and a great instinct for the game. She's a very complete, all-round player." For those who are not familiar with Hingis, she is a retired professional tennis player who spent a staggering 209 weeks as World No.1. Although Watson isn't nearly there in her career, she shows a lot of potential as Hingis had as a young female tennis player.
It has been said that if Watson fails to win Wimbledon in the next few years she most likely never will. However, with the debut that the British player has had, it seems far from likely that prediction will come to fruition. Let’s not forget that Watson is only 18 and that this year’s Wimbledon tournament may very well be the first of many.
So, who will win this match between these two women that will advance them into the next round at Wimbledon remains to be seen. Watson can only hope that it's her who shines on the grass, while Oprandi can only hope that her first round is secure.
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