Heather Watson bows out of Australian Open as she goes down against Anett Kontaveit

Britain’s hopes in the Australian Open women’s singles ended when Heather Watson was beaten by Anett Kontaveit in the second round.
After Johanna Konta and Fran Jones had fallen at the first hurdle, it was left to Watson to fly the flag but, despite winning the first set, she succumbed 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-3 to the 21st seed.
It was a battling display by Watson, though, whose participation in the tournament will always be remembered for her gruelling 15-day hard lockdown in a Melbourne hotel after arriving into Australia on a plane where another passenger had coronavirus.
The 28-year-old occupied herself in quarantine by running a 5k in her hotel room and she had to put in some more hard yards as Kontaveit surged into a 4-1 lead in the opening set.
“Hi mum!” 👋💙
Anett Kontaveit is through to the round 3⃣ and no matter what hour of the day her mother is always watching! 😃#AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/JNuPJ2jf0x
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 11, 2021
But Watson, ranked 60 in the world, began to find her range and a number of impressive winners saw her win five of the next seven games to take it to a tiebreak, where she again rallied from 2/5 to take it 7/5.
An exchange of breaks saw the second set finely poised at 4-4 before the Estonian pounced, winning the final two games to claim the set and send it to a decider.
Kontaveit, who reached the quarter-finals of this tournament last year, sensed blood and rattled through the final set, reeling off five successive games to book her place in the third round as Watson’s campaign ended.
Follow us on Twitter @T365Official and like our Facebook page.
Latest
-
Tennis News
Novak Djokovic to make Laver Cup call after Wimbledon
Novak Djokovic is interested in taking part in the Laver Cup.
-
US Open
John McEnroe paints a grim picture for Novak Djokovic
John McEnroe sees a future where Novak Djokovic ends the year ranked outside the top 40.
-
Wimbledon
Emma Raducanu’s Wimbledon dream dies – but what comes next matters more
Raducanu may have failed to live up to ridiculous Wimbledon expectations, but it is far too early to write her off.
-
Wimbledon
Novak Djokovic blows past Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets
The reigning champion dropped just seven games on Centre Court.
-
Tennis News
Alexander Zverev ‘in a positive mood’ as rehab begins
Alexander Zverev in a good mood as rehab journey begins.
-
US Open
Novak Djokovic says there is no ‘medical logic’ behind banning unvaccinated players from US Open
Novak Djokovic perplexed by decision not to allow unvaccinated players to compete at US Open.
-
Wimbledon
WATCH: Novak Djokovic becomes autograph hunter on behalf of his kids, gets Venus Williams’ signature
Novak Djokovic the autograph hunter.
-
Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal allays Covid-19 close contact fears after Matteo Berrettini’s Wimbledon withdrawal
“I feel very sorry for him because he was playing fantastic.”
-
Live Tennis
Wimbledon day three: Follow the action from SW19 with Tennis365’s live scores and results centre here…
Catch the action from Wimbledon with our live scores and results centre…
-
Wimbledon
Dan Evans to move on ‘pretty swiftly’ after Wimbledon exit: ‘It hurts. But I can have a party on my own’
Dan Evans suffered a straight-sets defeat.