Hingis-like Watson breaks into top 150

Tuesday 11th January 2011, 2:30PM GMT.

(Picture by PA)

ANOTHER milestone has been reached by Heather Watson, who has again be likened in style to the Swiss great Martina Hingis.

Yesterday, Watson broke into the world’s top 150 for the first time in her short career, days after The Times tennis correspondent Neil Harman linked her game to that of the former five-times Grand Slam winner, now retired.

The 18-year-old reached her first WTA quarter-final in Auckland last week, with that performance lifting her from 176 to 149 in the latest set of weekly rankings announced by the WTA.

It is a huge boost and marks 12 months of great progress as the Sarnian prepares to begin her qualifying campaign for the Australian Open in the early hours of tomorrow morning.