Heather Watson has qualified for the main draw of the French Open after claiming a 6-4 6-4 victory against Stefanie Voegele.
British teenager qualifies for main draw at Roland Garros
Heather Watson has qualified for the main draw of the French Open after claiming a 6-4 6-4 victory against Stefanie Voegele.
The British number three dropped her serve four times but converted all six of the break-point opportunities she created against her Swiss opponent.
The 19-year-old becomes the third British player to book her spot in the women's tournament proper at Roland Garros after Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong qualified automatically.
She had already defeated Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-3 6-0 and Sally Peers 6-3 7-5 to set up the final qualifying contest with Voegele.
It is the first time Watson has reached a grand slam tournament by right, with her only previous appearance at one of the major tournaments coming after she was given a wild-card entry to Wimbledon last year.
Great
"It feels great. The only other match I've won in a grand slam was (in qualifying) in Australia so this is big for me. I'm feeling very confident and happy with my performances so far," Watson said.
Watson came into the French Open campaign on the back of a second-round defeat at an ITF tournament at Cagnes-sur-Mer and a bad-tempered defeat in qualifying in Rome.
The Guersney teenager said that the recent setbacks have prompted her to have a calmer attitude out on court.
"Before Rome I played in Cagnes-sur-Mer and I lost a match where I had two match points, and I was devastated. That's because I wanted to win that match too badly, I wasn't able to put it away.
"Since then I've turned over a new leaf. I vowed never to throw my racquet ever again. I'm going to have fun and enjoy tennis. I loosened up in Rome but I got mad, so I'm just taking baby steps.
"I saw pictures of the racquet-throwing in Rome and it looked terrible. It was very unprofessional and that's not my goal. There's bigger things going on in the world to get mad at than tennis and a few points."
