Magazine-Sport

Watson reached 39 in the world in February 2013 before a bout of glandular fever saw her ranking slide

British number one Heather Watson will compete in this week's Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati having reclaimed her place in the top 50.

The 22-year-old is now ranked 46 in the world after reaching the third round at the Rogers Cup in Montreal last week.

Watson made the main draw in Cincinnati by beating Shahar Peer in qualifying and will play Shuai Zhang on Monday.

Compatriot Andy Murray will play either American Chase Buchanan or Portugal's Joao Sousa in his opening match.

The British number one, seeking his first tournament win since victory at Wimbledon in 2013, is seeded eighth and has been given a first-round bye.

Andy Murray - ninth in the world

Heather Watson - 46th in the world

Murray lost to eventual winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup in his last event.

Londoner James Ward beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 to qualify and will play Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Tuesday in his own opener.

Watson, who jumps 11 spots in the placings,  will play Zhang of China at 16:00 BST in the first round as she bids to better her highest ever ranking of 39, which she achieved in February 2013.

She suffered from glandular fever shortly after reaching that career peak but has enjoyed a recent resurgence, with a change of coach to Diego Veronelli also appearing to have helped her.

British number two Johanna Konta climbs four places to 119 in the rankings.