Heather Watson's performance against Serena Williams: turning point or one-off?

Since the beginning of this year's Wimbledon, one man has sat diligently through the mumbling clichés of each notable press conference, simply to ask them one question. The result is that every single notable player, from Roger Federer to Madison Keys, has had to offer their opinion on the prospect of Serena Williams capturing the final two slams to win the Calendar Grand Slam.

At the same time, with the bombardment of queries on the achievement she is now trying to pull off, Serena hasn't been allowed to stop talking about the Grand Slam. When she arrived in London, she claimed to have barely considered the thought of going all the way until New York. But such has been the chatter and incessant hype surrounding this prospect, even she admitted it was now a permanent thought on her mind.

The maths are both simple and insane. If Williams, who arrived in Wimbledon 32-1 for the year, is to triumph here, it would be her fourth straight slam, bringing about the second Serena Slam after the previous haul between 2002 and 2003.

Even more significantly, it would mean she would arrive at the US Open, the home slam that she has triumphed in three years in a row, under more pressure than any player in the history of tennis; chasing the two greatest achievements in the sport – the Calendar Grand Slam and a 22nd title that would equal Steffi Graf's haul as the joint most slam victories in the Open era.

Thus, when plucky Brit number one Heather Watson found herself serving at deuce and two points away from defeating Serena Williams, she had somehow managed to stumble upon a moment even more significant and historical than the ultimate upset in tennis itself.

She wasn't merely on the brink of defeating Serena Williams before her home crowd, in the sport's most prestigious event and at a tournament that has become the Williams family's cathedral. She was fingertips away from altering the course of what so many believe will be the natural course of history.

But even though Watson moved to within two points of victory, by then the moment was already departing.

This was no choke. After falling down 15-40 as she served for the match against the world number one, she slammed down two strong first serves to level the game. But the pendulum was already swinging as Williams groundstrokes were slowly coming to the fore. After spluttering throughout the final set, Williams' strokes kicked into gear.

10 minutes later, like a month ago in France when 5 of her 7 championship matches went the distance, Williams recovered and won.

One of the main qualities attributed to Heather Watson over the years has been the strength of her attitude. So often, this has been a smokescreen for her blatant lack of game.

At the top level of women's tennis where weapons and power are worth solid gold, Watson lacks both and her lightweight game can be regularly blasted off the court. Even her defensive, scuttling style of play is also quite limited in itself.

Her inability to regularly turn her defence into offence by redirecting their pace can be insufficient, and she lacks the resourcefulness and hands to throw off opponents with great slices, drop shots and net play.

And so, when another Wimbledon comes around, it's always Watson's attitude that is discussed.

But after defeat, it's no wonder why this wonderful attitude is always made such a focal point.

When Watson arrived before the press after the most despairing defeat of her career, no tears caked her face and she reserved no sympathy for herself. She was disappointed, but this wasn't heartbreak.

Instead, Watson looked even more energized and motivated than on the court. She looked like her mind was already set on putting the loss right. Constantly, she spoke about compartmentalizing aspects of the match – the feeling of Serena's shots, the tactics that worked – for the next time she catches up with Williams on another court around the globe.

In the next days, as is the British mentality, this defeat will probably be dressed as a victory. It's a thought that was put to Watson herself as she was asked whether this was the greatest day of her career. She all but scoffed in response, before emphatically responding "I wouldn't call losing the greatest day of my career."

What Watson's defeat did represent to herself and many other people is that she can trade strokes with the best. Williams was off form and poor as she sprayed errors off both wings, but Watson played at a level that her game requires to be successful.

She made a fortress of her side, retrieving every ball and, most importantly, returning them deep. Her backhand was the star of the show, and she manipulated the angles to drag the number one off court every time the chance beckoned.

Her mentality meant she refused to give in, even when it looked likely that, from her 3-0 and double break lead in the third set, Williams' thunderous comeback to 4-3 was the end.

But now that it's over she must bottle it up, stand up, move on, and then do it again, and again.