HEATHER WATSON will go in to her Wimbledon debut match today buoyed by a rise of 95 places in the latest world rankings.

After last week’s impressive performance at Eastbourne, where she reached the second round after having to qualify for the event, she is now world number 249, having previously been 344.

She is also the seventh best Briton on the list, leapfrogging Georgie Gent, Naomi Broady and Anna Smith.

Watson faces Italian Romina Oprandi in her first-round encounter at SW19 later today, due to be third on Court 18, which will likely be late afternoon, with further rewards on offer.

If she can win that match, she will gain another 100 ranking points, which in all likelihood would make her British number four, as well as almost certainly propelling the 18-year-old into the world’s top 200, her target at the beginning of the year.

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