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Heather Watson comfortably defeated by Jule Niemeier at Prague Open

Heather Watson comfortably defeated by Jule Niemeier at Prague Open
© Reuters
Great Britain's Heather Watson is knocked out of the Prague Open with a 2-6 3-6 defeat to Germany's Jule Niemeier in the first round.

Great Britain's Heather Watson suffered a swift exit from the Prague Open as she went down in straight sets to Germany's Jule Niemeier in the first round.

The 31-year-old - who progressed to the quarter-finals of last week's Poland Open before being defeated by doubles partner Yanina Wickmayer - lasted just 69 minutes on the court as Niemeier strolled to a 6-2 6-3 win.

Watson had got the better of Niemeier at this year's Nottingham Open and led their head-to-head 2-1 prior to Tuesday's contest, but she was made to pay for squandering three break opportunities early doors.

After coming through that tricky hold, Niemeier broke Watson for a 3-1 lead and won 85% of her first-serve points to keep the Briton at bay, ultimately breaking once again in the eighth on her third set point.

Niemeier immediately went a set and a break up following the restart, but the German lost her serve straight away as Watson - who managed to largely cut out the double faults which plagued her in the opener - drew level at 2-2.

However, a flurry of aces from Niemeier otherwise kept Watson at bay in the second set, and the world number 101 broke for the fourth time to move 5-3 up before converting her second match point, setting up a second-round tie with Ukrainian eighth seed Kateryna Baindl.

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Heather Watson pictured at the Billie Jean King Cup finals on November 10, 2022
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