Pride of Britain

Tuesday 24th May 2011, 2:29PM BST.

HEATHER WATSON was the pride of British sport last night as she made modern history to reach the French Open second round at Roland Garros.

The 19-year-old Sarnian secured a memorable 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 first-round victory over home player Stephanie Foretz Gacon in her debut game in the main draw to end a 17-year wait for a British female winner at this early stage of the event.

That last win was by Clare Wood back in 1994, making Watson the first British woman to win a main match on the clay courts in Paris this millennium.

Going into what was only her second career Grand Slam match, televised live on both the BBC and British Eurosport, the Guernsey girl started off slowly, falling a break behind early on.

Read the full story in the Guernsey Press. See below for subscription details. Individual editions are also available.

View more: Heather Watson news.

1
slep

May 24, 2011 at 4:14 pm

Great stuff! A Guern as champion would be even better :)

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2
Expat80

May 24, 2011 at 4:27 pm

Way to go Heather! Just goes to show what Guernsey’s young people can do.Congratulations and please continue!

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3
Neil

May 24, 2011 at 4:32 pm

Exceptional. Parents must be extremely proud.

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4
Toady

May 24, 2011 at 6:51 pm

Congratulations Heather

You have made your parents and the Island very proud indeed , keep up the good work

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5
Venus Pool

May 24, 2011 at 10:41 pm

Brilliant Stuff! Hopefully we may see you in Australia one day.

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