Heather Watson watching St Mirren ace boyfriend from Paris as Olympic win put paid to Conference League plans

Tennis star Heather Watson is gutted that she can't watch her boyfriend Shaun Rooney in action for St Mirren in tonight's huge Conference League qualifier with Valur but insists she will be keeping tabs on the game in Paisley from afar.

Stephen Robinson's men host Icelandic side Valur at the SMISA Stadium tonight in the return leg of the second round qualifier after claiming a 0-0 draw in Reykjavík last week. 2016 Wimbeldon mixed doubles champion Watson met the Scottish defender Rooney last year when the former St Johnstone man was playing for Fleetwood Town in the English third tier.

Back in May, Rooney, 28 sealed his return to the Premiership by penning a two-year deal with St Mirren. Watson was unable to make the trip north to Paisley because of her commitments at the Paris Olympics, reaching the quarter finals of the women's doubles with partner Katie Boulder before losing out to Italian duo Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets.

But speaking to BBC Sport after her quarter final defeat on Thursday, Watson, 32, says she will be meeting up with the Scot after the vital European clash. She said: "He just text me to say that he watched us and we played great. I love, love, love watching him play. I

"If we didn't get through in our doubles yesterday I was gonna go there and watch his game tonight. Obviously we got through so it was a win-win situation. I love watching him play and I think he likes watching me play too.

"I am definitely going to try and watch it and at the bare minimum I'll be following the scores. I've got all the alerts on my phone but I will definitely watch it tonight. I am probably going to see him tomorrow in Glasgow and it will be the first time seeing him since he moved up to St Mirren."