HEATHER WATSON (pictured) came agonisingly close to making it three tournament wins on the bounce, finishing runner-up in one of the most prestigious of ITF junior events in Florida.

The 16-year-old Guernsey girl followed up her tournament wins at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune and Yucatan World Cup in Mexico by sweeping through to the final of the under-18 girls’ singles at the Eddie Herr Classic.

But the last remaining American hope in the tournament, ninth-seed Lauren Embree, was to prove one hurdle too many in yesterday’s final.

Embree, who had not lost a set all tournament, made short work of beating the Guernsey girl, winning 6-0, 6-1.

‘I knew she [Watson] was a really good player, because she just won the Yucatan tournament,’ Embree said, ‘so I knew I had to keep a lot of balls in play.’

That is precisely what she did, controlling the points and eliciting errors from an off-form opponent.