Cellular South Cup - 2nd Round: Watson upsets Foretz Gacon
Heather Watson from Great Britain managed to defeat French qualifier Stephanie Foretz Gacon in three sets 2-6, 7-5, 4-6 at the second round of the 2011 Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee. The teenage tennis pro, who hails from Great Britain, took almost
two hours and fifteen minutes to eliminate her opponent and proceed to the quarterfinals.
Watson is currently ranked World Number 145, exactly fifteen spots above Foretz Gacon. Tennis enthusiasts were double-minded about the outcome of the match; despite the fact that Watson was higher than Foretz Gacon on the Women’s Tennis Association [WTA]
rankings, she had also been defeated by the French player earlier this year. In addition to this, Foretz Gacon is 29 years old and has much more experience than the 18-year-old Watson.
Watson established herself as tough competition from the beginning of the match, winning the first set 6-2 to confirm that the match would definitely not be an easy one for Foretz Gacon. She scored four aces against the French player, who could not manage
any. Watson also saved one break point and successfully converted two of four against Foretz Gacon in the first set. She won an impressive 61 percent of the total points in the opening set.
The second set was far more competitive, with World Number 160 Foretz Gacon fighting hard to make up for her unsatisfactory performance in the first round. She could not score any aces, but managed to convert two of five break points against her British
opponent. The set was an indecisive one, right until Foretz Gacon shot a forehand winner down the line to take the twelfth game and win the set 7-5.
The third round was once again in Watson’s hands. Although the outcome was still up in the air, the British teenager took the initiative and fought hard to win back her lead. She converted three break points and saved one of three on her own. In addition
to this, she managed to win 53 percent of the total points in the set. Watson won the set 6-4 to conclude the match.
The win was somewhat unexpected, because Foretz Gacon has defeated Watson in both their previous meetings. They competed against each other for the first time in the qualifying rounds of the 2010 Quebec City tournament, where Foretz Gacon was seeded seventh.
She defeat Watson in straight sets 6-1, 6-1. Their most recent meeting was at the 2011 Midland tournament, where the two players faced each other in the round of the last 32. Foretz Gacon won the match 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6). However, the fact that the match went
into a tie-breaking round clearly showed that Watson was no longer an easy conquest.
Heather Watson will now face Russian Evgeniya Rodina in the quarterfinals. Rodina defeated American third seed Melanie Oudin in straight sets 6-1, 7-5 to secure her place in the next round of the joint tournament.
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