HEATHER WATSON made a Grand Slam in the round of 16 for the first time after ousting Slovenian Kaja Juvan.
The Briton, 30, and at her 12th Wimbledon, took advantage of her opponent’s Court One stage fright to register a 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 triumph.
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But Watson had to go through his own mini-crisis after seemingly being on the verge of a cataclysmic meltdown.
After edging out a tight and error-filled tiebreak, Watson saw her opponent crumble as she went through the second set.
It brought cheers from the fans on the court and a huge smile from Watson, who gave further proof that British women’s tennis doesn’t stop at Emma Raducanu.
Watson said: “It wouldn’t be me if it wasn’t for a bit of drama at the end!
“I wasn’t that nervous because she played her best tennis at this stage, but I’m so happy.”
The smiles continued as Watson addressed the crowd, saying: ‘Wow – what an atmosphere – there’s nowhere like it.
“You helped me cross the line. It means everything to me.
“Playing here at home, the atmosphere is everything. Please can you all come back for my fourth round?”
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Watson bounced back from losing her serve in game seven by pulling out immediately before taking a nervous tie-break to move past in less than an hour.
Both players were inhibited by the situation, with just five of 14 points won on serve and it was only fitting that Juvan double faulted on what was Watson’s fourth set point.
The Slovenian, who had started with a flurry of powerful groundstrokes, was now a bag of anxiety, with two more errors giving Watson a break to open the second set.
When Watson broke again, after a beauty down the line followed by a long forced backhand, Juvan looked completely beaten, all of her initial energy drained.
The Slovenian’s free fall continued, with Watson winning 11 points in a row to bring him to the brink of victory, only to choke out and allow a break.
Juvan then had FOUR break points on Watson’s next service game but was unable to capitalize.
And a stray volley on her first match point saw the Briton head home.
KILLER CALENDAR
On Thursday, Watson accused Wimbledon bosses of “trying to kill her” amid a grueling schedule.
The Briton was forced to play until 11pm on Monday night before her first-round match against Tamara Korpatsch was suspended as it reached curfew.
Watson picked up a three-set victory on Tuesday before being offered a Wednesday night match against Wang Qiang – and again was forced to finish it the next day due to poor light.
Watson told the BBC: “Honestly, I’m not doing too well anymore.
“I slept less than four hours last night and they scheduled me tonight not before 6 p.m. for the doubles.
“I think they are trying to kill me here to be honest.”
Either way, Watson took to the No. 1 court and put on a sensational display to win.
Now she will have to worry about the schedule for at least a few more days with her fourth-round match against Jule Niemeier coming up on Sunday.
She also plays with Harriet Dart – who raged at the referee after her second-round singles loss – in women’s doubles later on Friday, with her mixed doubles match alongside Ken Skupski coming up.
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