Tuesday 17 March 2015 13:29, UK
Heather Watson has come a long way in 18 months and Annabel Croft insists the only way is up for the British No 1.
Watson was diagnosed with glandular fever in April 2013, which saw a long road back to full recovery for the Guernsey girl.
After dipping down the rankings and struggling with her comeback, the 22-year-old has started to show her true potential since the start of the year.
In January, Watson took her second WTA career title at Hobart and she continued her resurgence this month, upsetting Agnieszka Radwanska to reach the last 16 at Indian Wells on Sunday.
"It's been amazing. What she's done so well is really control the ball and get a lot of balls back into play and make her opponents play a lot of balls," said Sky Sports tennis expert Croft.
I think the win against Radwanska is the biggest win of her career because it's her first top 10 win.
"With the light air in Indian Wells and the way that the conditions are, the players find it really difficult to play their best tennis at the beginning of the tournament until they get used to it and balls tend to fly around.
"I think the win against Radwanska is the biggest win of her career because it's her first top 10 win.
"Heather is a great competitor and she moves really well and the way she held her nerve after things started to go against her in the second set to pull it back again and close out the match is a huge win.
"She's improved various different areas of her game. I think she works well with her coach (Argentine Diego Veronelli). They have a great rapport between each other and she's worked a little bit more on putting more power into her game, but she's also working on her serve.
"She's ultimately somebody who counter-punches very well. She's not a big striker of the ball, she doesn't have natural pace and power yet she's been able to improve certain elements and bring her whole base level of her game up a couple of notches."
Watson now faces Carla Suarez Navarro for a place in the quarter-finals where she could meet French Open finalist Simona Halep before a potential semi-final clash against world No 1 Serena Williams.
But Croft has warned her not to look past the cultured player from Spain.
"Suarez Navarro is a very different type of opponent to Radwanska so expect a big backhand and lots of top spin," she said. "The ball will be rearing up quite high and because of the conditions the ball will rear - it's very lively - so I'm guessing she will have to play a lot of balls at shoulder height.
"She's also a single hander, so I'm sure she'll be playing plenty of sliced backhands as well as that top spin she possesses.
"The thing about Heather is that you have to play well to beat her, because you have to track down a lot of balls.
"What's been admirable about her is that she's gone off and when she dipped in ranking and was at an all-time low she said it was the first time in her career that she had gone in the opposite direction. She went out and played all the Challengers again and qualifiers, but she did it the hard way and I think in some ways that's made her much stronger as a person.
"She's going in the right direction and I have no doubt that the win over Radwanska will give her masses of confidence going forward and of course if she can keep moving her ranking up, it might mean she has a chance to be seeded at the slams, which will make a big difference to her going deeper in tournaments."
Meanwhile, Laura Robson has confirmed that she will not take up a wildcard into qualifying for this month's Miami Open after a 14-month injury absence.
The former British No 1 is not thought to have suffered any major setback in her rehab from wrist surgery and the next possible target is a WTA event in Colombia next month.
However, it is now 14 months since Robson's last appearance, at the 2014 Australian Open, and Croft fears "it could be a long road back" for the 21-year-old.
"It's very disappointing," admitted Croft. "Laura has natural pace and power and has a phenomenal strike. We've seen what she's capable of on a big stage. She loves being out there on the Centre Court, taking on the big seeds and the big names in the world.
"To be out for over a year is a long, long time and there is nothing to replicate match fitness. It's one thing to be training but with all these girls playing matches, it's a long road back for her."
