THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

June 28, 2022

Heather Watson

Press Conference

H. WATSON /T. Korpatsch

6-7, 7-5, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Heather, great to finish off that match today. How was it for you?

HEATHER WATSON: Good, yeah. It was a battle yesterday. I felt quite tense out there. I wasn't playing my best tennis. I was fighting as hard as I could. Managed to get hold of that second set. I felt like I started to create more opportunities in that second set. It was just a matter of taking them, and then I did at the end. I was happy to keep myself alive at that point.

Then today, the third set, I came in with a fresh outlook and was much happier with my tennis performance today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You got quite emotional on the court afterwards. Can you sort of explain why.

HEATHER WATSON: Yeah, well, it's my period this week. I get emotional on my period (smiling).

Yeah, I mean, the last few years for me personally have been tough. I've had my ups and downs - mostly downs - like so many people have with the pandemic and stuff. But not just that, with my tennis as a whole. The person I am, I'm a fighter. Also for my game, I'm the type of player that needs to put in a lot of work to play good tennis, a lot of hours on the court, a lot of hours in the gym.

I think it was just a buildup of that, as well, just how much I've been putting in and not getting any reward. So, you know, after my match here last year on Court 1, that was an all-time low for me.

Coming back, I was so happy I could change the outcome and narrative this year.

Q. Can you go into some of the downs you're talking about? What sort of things?

HEATHER WATSON: I think just sport in general. The highs are super high and the lows are really low. You know, I've been around a while now. I know that the lows don't last forever.

Yeah, just not being happy with my ranking, the way I'm playing. I expect more of myself. I think tennis players as a whole always do. But I felt like the last few years I've been underachieving.

Q. In terms of the COVID, have you lost anyone in your family, the lockdown issues and things?

HEATHER WATSON: No, fortunately I haven't lost anyone. I don't know anyone. But, yeah, I just say the battles with that, the isolation. I'm such a people person, very outgoing person. Being with friends and family, being social, is what fulfills me in life.

So, yeah, I guess I missed that. Then it was just impossible to find joy on the tennis court with no fans. Being able to play my first match on Court 1 was really special.

Q. Obviously it was a tale of two days really. The way you came out today and played, probably as well as I've seen you play here for a long time. Would you agree with that? Where does it sit with your previous experiences of playing here?

HEATHER WATSON: I thought I played much better today. I think yesterday I was sort of caught up in my emotions and not focusing on the simple technical things.

Today I just thought, like, Fuck it (laughter). I'm just going to go out there and play. If I win, I win. If I lose, I lose. Not overthink either way, just play how I want to play and do the right things, whether it works or it doesn't.

Q. For us complete novices, what stops you from going out and saying yes today and having a go?

HEATHER WATSON: Well, I did say it at first, I just didn't do it. Today I actually did it.

But, yeah, I thought I served really well today. It was actually a bit windier today, and I thought I dealt with the conditions better.

Q. Do you feel like it's still worth it for days like today? Nice, sunny day, show court, singles at Wimbledon. Is it still all worth the effort you have to put in?

HEATHER WATSON: 100%. It makes it worth it for these moments. For me this is the top, playing at Wimbledon, on the biggest courts in the world. It's worth it for me. The highs are worth it.

Yeah, I feel like I have to play a lot of hours and do a lot of hours to get better. This grass court season I injured my hamstring, so I went into Eastbourne not fully prepared. I'm not the type of player that can just rock up. I need those hours of training to gain that confidence and feel the ball.

But I do enjoy training, so it's not too difficult for me to put in those hours. I enjoy it. But I do want the rewards of it, as well (smiling).

Q. When you see someone like Laura Robson retire, try to come back, had all these injuries, how much more determined does that make you to keep pushing yourself and play as long as you possibly can?

HEATHER WATSON: I want to keep playing as long as possible, but also looking at her, for example, it allows you to see that there's more after tennis, as well. She's happy. She's enjoying life. So I have that to look forward to after.

Q. You mentioned yesterday that you sort of battled your way back into the second set. Because it was so late, you had to come off. Were you happy to come back today, or because you battled that way, did you want to stay on?

HEATHER WATSON: To be honest, I was indifferent. I knew that's the case. It's been the same rule for many years. So I didn't think about it at all.

With hindsight, I think it worked better for me.

Q. How did you prepare for this morning?

HEATHER WATSON: Well, last night I showered, stretched, went home, force-fed myself because I'm just not hungry after a physical match like that. Tried to catch up on Love Island a bit. I know I quit for a few years, but I'm back on it because I know someone on there (smiling).

I tried to wind down, probably got to sleep around 1:30, 2:00 a.m. I slept in this morning. Had a really good warmup. It's just one set today. I wanted to just be fully ready to go on and be explosive on the court. Just warmed up, force-fed myself again today. Just really wasn't hungry.

It's more the mental preparations that are more important than anything. I made sure I was in a good mindset.

Q. What meals did you force-feed yourself?

HEATHER WATSON: Last night was just chicken and salad. Two chicken wings and some lettuce leafs. This morning I had two poached eggs, avocado on toast, and some smoked salmon. Then I got a wrap, a chena and cheese wrap.

Q. Who do you know from "Love Island"?

HEATHER WATSON: Andrew from Guernsey. Did you guess that? Are you watching it?

Q. I don't know anything about it.

HEATHER WATSON: (Laughter.)

Q. It sounds from the way you're talking as though last year's defeat has really stayed with you throughout the year. Was it a case really of coming here this year needing to banish that feeling?

HEATHER WATSON: Do you know what, it did stick with me for a long time, having match points at Wimbledon. I feel like I've always had such strong performances here, particularly at Wimbledon. And I love the grass. I feel like it was a really tough one for me to take.

I was on a low for weeks after that. I really struggled. I've thought about it a lot since. But I have to say coming up to this match yesterday when we started, it wasn't really in my head. I wasn't thinking about that. I was purely just focusing on the task at hand.

Q. When you were at your lowest point, when you see someone like Emma, a British teammate winning the US Open, does that inspire you or does that put pressure on you in the state that you're in?

HEATHER WATSON: I mean, seeing Emma do what she did, it was incredible. I think all of us Brits are so supportive of each other. I saw her today actually for the first time. I haven't seen her around the grounds. We both gave each other a big hug, saying, Well done. It was straight after my match.

We have great team spirit amongst the male and female players. There's not a massive group of us, so I think we're really just tightly knit.

Grass court season, there's been so many great performances by, for example, Jodie Burrage, Ryan Peniston. We're actually in a group chat from the Battle of the Brits. We all message each other after big wins. We're all supporting each other.

Q. I wanted to know, because you spoke about last year, Court 1, the lows. You also had the highs of playing Serena on Centre Court in 2015. Does that match yesterday sum up your relationship with Wimbledon, your matches throughout your career, especially with the hundred years of Centre Court as well? I wanted you to expand on the ups and lows you've had here and what Centre Court means to you as a fan and player.

HEATHER WATSON: I have to say my experiences of Wimbledon have mostly all been highs. I get most inspired playing here at home, at Wimbledon. I think I'm not the only one. Also not even British players; I think Wimbledon is so special.

Yeah, I have great memories, so I just feed off of them all the time.