Heather Watson has advanced into the third round at Wimbledon by beating Daniela Hantuchova in straight sets this evening.
As the last Briton left standing in the ladies' singles, Watson came into her second-round clash with a degree of pressure to contend with.
However, the world number 64 kept her cool under the sweltering heat, which climbed to as high as 35.7 degrees Celsius - a competition record - to dump out the Slovakian 6-4 6-2 in just under 90 minutes.
Watson looked in trouble early on as Hantuchova - ranked 71st in the world - broke her opponent for the first time to establish a 3-1 first-set lead.
Nevertheless, the Englishwoman responded well with two breaks of serve in three games to move 4-3 ahead, before ultimately drawing first blood in the match.
Three successive breaks of serve saw Watson lead 2-1 in the second set, before kicking on from there en route to a 5-1 lead against the stunned Hantuchova, who then held her serve for the first time in the set, but it was not enough as the local favourite closed it out.
She will face Serena Williams in the next round if the American beats Timea Babos tonight.
Shane Callaghan
