Heather Watson won her third career title at the Abierto Monterrey Afirme, recovering from a set down to defeat Kirsten Flipkens, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

The 23-year-old was one of three Brits to reach WTA quarterfinals in Monterrey and the BMW Malaysian Open, joining Johanna Konta and Naomi Broady, respectively, making for the most successful week for British women since 1978 (Eastbourne).

A former US Open junior champion, Watson is likely best known by tennis fans as the hometown favorite who nearly ended World No.1 Serena Williams’ Calendar Year Grand Slam bid at last year’s Wimbledon Championships, pushing the American to three grueling sets.

Unveiling a more aggressive gameplan, the Brit overcame the heat and other adversities throughout the week to defeat the veteran Belgian, surviving a late surge to win her first title since last year’s 2015 Hobart International.

Earning a wildcard at the BNP Paribas Open before completing her winning week in Monterrey, Watson spoke with WTA Insider ahead of her trek towards the California desert about steady improvements and celebrating Mother’s Day with mother Michelle, a “tennis geek” who served as her on-court coach.

Insider: How does it feel to get that third title of yours on familiar and friendly territory in Mexico?
Watson: I’m just really pleased. The week started out kind of tough. When I got my bag off the plane, it was broken so I had it safety-pinned together this whole week. I put my laundry in the first day and lost all my clothes, so I was without half of my clothes. In my first match, I was almost full-body cramping in that epic match against Doi. Being here now, I’m just so pleased with how I stuck with it and tried my best.

Insider: You’d come in with two tough three-set losses in your last couple of events. With all of that happening, with the bags and the laundry, how hard was it to stay positive and to plug away down there?
Watson: I’d lost really close matches to some really tough players, but I didn’t let that bother me. They were all close matches, and I was in them all, so I just had to look at it from that point of view and just be positive about it. That’s what I kept doing.

Insider: It seems quite obvious this year that you’ve stepped up your game quite a bit. Can you talk about the work you’ve been doing in the off-season and some of the adjustments you’ve been making to your game?
Watson: I had a shorter off-season this year because I went to India to play some league tennis, so I only had an off-season for about four weeks. Usually I do about six weeks. Doing this way, I actually preferred doing a shorter but more intense off-season and I just felt fitter than I’ve ever been in January. With my game, I’m always working on being more aggressive; I think in important matches like today, it comes out because I know I need to do that to win otherwise the other player is going to step up first. I always force myself to do it in these important matches but I need to do it more often so it becomes a habit.

Insider: What does being aggressive mean to you and what’s the most challenging thing about that? What’s the biggest key to help keep you in that aggressive mindset when you play?
Watson: I feel like my serve is always pretty aggressive, so I don’t even think about that. My baseline game and trying to step into the court, take the initiative, go down the line first, come into the net. Just go for the winner first, basically, and not just hope for the mistake.

Insider: Does it come down to decision-making? Knowing where that hole is where you can gun for the shot and when not to?
Watson: It’s basically a mindset. I can do it, I can play aggressive tennis, I can play defensive tennis. It’s just making sure my mind is in the right place.

Insider: You aren’t the only player to say they really enjoyed a shorter off-season and playing league events, and they felt more in mid-season form. Is that kind of how you felt when you started the season?
Watson: Because it was shorter and more intense, I was more raring to go, and I just felt so fit. I feel like if the off-season is too long, you can almost exhaust yourself before the season’s even begun. I didn’t do that on purpose this year, but doing it that way makes me want to do it more like that in the future.

Insider: So many players will say that they don’t really know where their game is for the first couple of matches, but there’s always that one match where it triggers something in your brain where you think, “I can win this tournament.” Did you have a moment like that?
Watson: No I didn’t. I literally just thought, ‘I want to win one match here.’ That was my mindset coming in. I just wanted to win that first match, and I killed myself on court and did everything I possibly could to come through that. Once I got myself through that, the second match felt right, and I’ve got another opportunity here. Let’s try and give everything for another match, and it just continued like that and I never thought further than that. I just tried to be as professional as I could, kept my routines healthy, did all my warm-ups and cool downs and did everything I could to be prepared for that next match.

Insider: What’s the story behind your mom acting as your coach this week?
Watson: I’d been with Judy Murray in Australia; she was very nice to help me out. I’d tried a few coaches but haven’t really found the right fit. I asked my mum to come along; she’d been with me when I was very young and playing little tournaments in the UK. She’s been with me throughout my whole career. To have her back was really nice; she’s been so supportive this week. She knows a lot about tennis; she’s a tennis geek! She does actually know her stuff. But she hadn’t seen me win a title yet, so to have her here and seeing it meant a lot to her. Also, it was Mother’s Day back home in England, so it makes it even more special.

Insider: That’s quite the coaching debut!
Watson: Right? I might need her around a little more often!

Insider: Are you without a formal coach? I didn’t know you’d stopped working with you previous coach.
Watson: Yes, for right now, but I’ve got some plans in the up and coming weeks, but nothing set in stone yet.

Insider: When did you split with your former coach, Diego Veronelli? I was going to say Dante, and I was like, ‘No, that’s not right. That’s Nishikori.’
Watson: But Dante Bottini used to be my coach, as well, at Bollettieri. We stopped at the beginning of the off-season.

Insider: Where were you during the off-season?
Watson: I did my off-season in Florida with Pat Harrison, who is Ryan and Christian Harrison’s dad. I did that with him in Florida.

Insider: Was that the first time your mom has ever done one of those on-court coaching timeouts?
Watson: She did it in my first match, but this is probably the first time she’s ever done it.

Insider: Was that surreal, having her come down?
Watson: It felt really normal; I didn’t think anything of it, but yeah, she was great.

Insider: How are you going to celebrate your title? I know you’ll have to get to Indian Wells fairly quickly, but what do you plan on doing this evening?
Watson: Oh gosh. Well, first of all: get some food in me, because I’m hungry. I struggled to eat today and yesterday. I’m actually still not even hungry, but I’ve got to eat something. Then I’m flying early to Indian Wells and I’ve got to make sure I recover, so I don’t think I’ll be celebrating yet. I’ll just wait until after, when I have a few days.

Insider: But it was still a great Mother’s Day present.
Watson: Yeah, I hope she enjoys it.

All photos courtesy of Abierto Monterrey Afirme.