LONDON, JULY 5 (AGENCIES): Johanna Konta and Heather Watson won their second-round matches at Wimbledon as two British women reached the last 32 for the first time since 1986. Sixth seed Konta, 26, won 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 10-8 against Croatia's Donna Vekic in a tense battle on a hot Centre Court. Watson, 25, matched her best SW19 run with a stunning 6-0 6-4 win over 18th seed Anastasija Sevastova. In the men's draw, fellow Briton Aljaz Bedene, 27, won 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-3 against Bosnia and Herzegovina's Damir Dzumhur. Watson and Konta's victories mean they have become the first two British women to appear in the same third-round draw since Jo Durie and Anne Hobbs three decades ago. Konta faces Greece's 101-ranked Maria Sakkari in the third round, while Watson will play former world number one Victoria Azarenka. Belarusian Azarenka is competing in her first Slam since giving birth to her first child Leo in December. Watson has dropped outside the world's top 100 after reaching a high of 38 in January 2015. The former British number one had only won five tour matches going into the grass-court season, but enjoyed a run to the Eastbourne semi-finals last week on her favourite surface. After defeat by Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki in the last four, Watson said it was the best preparation she could have had going into her home Grand Slam. And it showed as she overpowered Sevastova in an opening set where she cracked seven winners and did not make a single unforced error. Watson wobbled slightly in the second set, losing her serve in the third game with a double fault - one of five in the set - before recovering to win five of the final six games. "I felt very good at the beginning of match, very on it and relaxed, more than I was in my first match," Watson told BBC One. "I obviously know how she plays, she is a great player and I was expecting the best. "She started to step up in the second set but I was able to keep my cool and just stick with her. "I feel like I'm seeing the ball very big and am moving well."
