Heather Watson gets first WTA main draw win since September at Queen's
The 33-year-old cruised past Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva 6-4 6-3 to set up an exciting upcoming battle against world No.12 and former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina at the LTA's HSBC Championships.
Watson had secured her spot in the main draw after coming through qualifying over the weekend, beating Japan's Ena Shibahara and Zeynep Sonmez in the run up to her round one match.
It meant that the former British No.1 already had a good feel for the grass in West Kensington and made it count in an impressive first round performance.
"I'm very happy to be through here at Queen's, it's such a great event so far and I'm really enjoying playing on these courts," she said.
"I've played three matches now and I feel like I'm getting better and better with each match.
"I'm just really happy to get a win today because it really helps my ranking and into future events."
After some initial back and forth play, Watson made her mark in the first set by breaking Putintseva and winning three games in a row to go ahead.
Putintseva soon broke back but Watson held strong to take the first set and refused to let up from there.
In a dominant second set, the Brit thrived in the emerging sunshine and surged into a 4-1 lead, holding steady against a late surge from her opponent to clinch the overall win.
It sets up a tough second round draw for the Brit who must now face 2022 Wimbledon winner Rybakina for a spot in the quarterfinals.
But with recent victory under her belt and a rallying British crowd behind her, Watson admitted that nothing will deter her trying to rise up the WTA rankings once more.
"I'm just taking each win as it comes and wanting to keep climbing and do well at Wimbledon," she said.
"It's the best women's tennis has been in Britain my whole career and to have such a prestigious event here in London is special for everybody."
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website
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