Heather Watson is disappointed but is remaining positive following her defeat to fourth seed Alison Riske at the Aegon Open in Nottingham on Tuesday.
The British number two is delighted to be back on the grass and is targeting a good run at the home tournaments as she aims to get back into the world’s top 100.
Reflecting on her straight sets defeat to last year’s finalist Riske 6-2, 6-3, Watson said: “It was a tough match today, I knew it would be. Alison was very solid and played very well in all aspects of her game.
“I didn’t feel too bad on the court, I felt a bit flat and gave away too many points especially when I got close and when I broke back. I didn’t feel I did too much wrong, yes I had my chances but she didn’t give me much room to breathe.
“I don’t feel like the scoreline reflects the match but I know she loves the grass and plays very well here and you can see why”, she added.
Looking ahead, Watson is targeting a return to the world’s top 100, she said: “I want to use these weeks to get in the main draw of the US Open. I want to be consistent and that’s why I’m beating myself up a bit about today because I’ve been brought back down to earth, but yeah I want to be consistent every week and not be too hard on myself.”
The British number two enjoyed a good first tournament on grass last week at Surbiton, where she reached the final before losing to Magdalena Rybarikova 6-4, 7-5. Watson, currently ranked at 113 was pleased with the fact that she was able to sleep in her own bed during the event and is looking forward to the rest of the grass court season.
“I just have to stay positive after this one. I had a good week last week and wanted to continue my form here, but it was very tough today”, she said.
Watson has applied for wild cards for the upcoming WTA events in Birmingham and Eastbourne, but is still waiting to find out the verdict as to whether she will be able to play. However, she will be defending her mixed doubles title with partner Henri Kontinen at SW19.
“We will be defending our crown. Well we’ve already got one but we want another one! I want a wildcard into Wimbledon but I don’t know whether I’ll get one, I haven’t even heard about next week yet.”
With the home crowd behind her it looks set to be an enjoyable upcoming few weeks for Watson as she continues to improve her game and build on her current ranking to get back to the level she was at a couple of seasons ago.
