A late fightback for Heather Watson was in vain as the former British number one lost in straight sets to the USA's Sloane Stephens in the second round of the ATX Open.
Fresh from coming through qualifiers and beating Danka Kovinic in round one to progress to the last 16, Watson went down 4-6 4-6 to the fifth seed in one hour and 26 minutes, despite showcasing admirable resilience throughout the contest.
The pair traded breaks in the opening two games of the match before Stephens found her groove and established a 5-2 lead, but Watson was not going down without a fight and broke the American while she was serving for the first set.
After holding for 4-5, Watson had a magnificent opportunity to break back again - getting to 40-0 on Stephens's serve in the 10th game - but she squandered all three chances to do so as Stephens took the first set.
Clearly affected by letting those break points slip through her grasp, Watson was broken twice straight away in the second set, but she miraculously recovered with a double break of her own to level at 4-4.
There would be no sensational comeback for the former British number one, though, as Stephens broke in the ninth game before taking her first match point on serve to advance to the quarter-finals, where she will take on Varvara Gracheva.
Ben Knapton
