Heather Watson becomes first Brit to bow out of the Australian Open with straight sets defeat by Petra Martic
- Heather Watson was beaten 6-1, 6-2 by Petra Martic in Melbourne on Monday
- British No 3 struggled in the stifling heat on day one of the Australian Open
- She struck 26 unforced errors and crashed out in only 64 minutes
Heather Watson became the first Brit to bow out of the 2019 Australian Open on Monday with a 6-1, 6-2 defeat by Petra Martic.
The British No 3 required medical attention as she struggled in the stifling Melbourne heat.
She lost in just 64 minutes to cap a disappointing couple of seasons that saw her drop back outside the top 100 on the eve of the tournament.
Heather Watson plays a forehand shot during her difficult first-round match with Petra Martic
The No 31 seed celebrates on her way to a comfortable straight sets victory against Watson
The gradual slide in Watson’s career continues and she could make no impression on the 31st seed from Croatia, offering little resistance as she became the first player to go out of the 2019 tournament.
Without arresting her decline the Guernsey player will not be able to get straight into Grand Slam main draws, and only marginally made this one.
‘At the moment it’s not clicking,’ said Watson, who called the doctor on in the second set to test her blood pressure due to the heat and the anxiety she was feeling.
‘I have got to change something, I’m not going to continue like this,’ added a tearful Watson. ‘I didn’t enjoy today that’s for sure.’
The British No 3 struggled with injury throughout and required two medical timeouts
Watson looks frustrated as the British No 3 fails to get to grips with the Australian heat