Heather Watson stuns Sofia Arvidsson to reach the quarterfinal – Bell Challenge 2011
Sheer surprise for the tennis fans at Quebec, Canada, as the fifth seed Swede competitor, Sofia Arvidsson, crashed out of the second round of the Bell Challenge at the hands of the unseeded Briton, Heather Watson, on Wednesday
night.
It was an enthralling contest with high quality tennis action but the 107th ranked Watson proved too good for the word number 77. The Briton wrapped up victory in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3, to force her way to the quarter-final
round of the $220,000 WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tournament.
The fifth seed Arvidsson fought valiantly in the game but was outdone by the brilliance of the British teenager in the contest. She gave a tough time to Watson in the opener but crumbled in the following set with ease to let the
19-year-old Briton take a convincing victory in the end.
Watson served brilliantly in the game, reaching 73 per cent precision and reeled off 38 out of 57 first serve points to take the better of her opponent. She crafted a total of 11 break opportunities in the matchup and converted
six of them en route to victory, while the fifth seed Swede cashed in four of her 10 break points to finish on the losing side.
The action took off right from the opening game, with Watson breaking her opponent to lead 2-0 early in the contest. She secured 19 out of 29 first serve points in the opener kept playing good aggressive tennis to push the fifth
seed on her back foot. Arvidsson cracked in two break points in the set but Watson took the better of her with a total of three break point conversions, sealing the first set at 7-5 to get one up in the match.
More intense tennis was played in the following set and an early trade of two serve breaks each was witnessed from both contestants. Watson’s sixth break point conversion in the eighth game proved decisive in the competition, bestowing
victory on her at 6-3. The Briton moved into the quarter-final draws of the Bell Challenge to face the third seeded Austrian, Tamira Paszek, for a place in the semis.
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