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Watson's defence in tatters

Watson's defence in tatters

Heather Watson's disappointing 2013 continued as she lost to Monica Puig at the Japan Open.

Watson had started the year 49th in the world rankings but has subsequently plummeted to 92nd after a run of indifferent performances.

The Briton's hopes of recapturing her title-winning form of 2012, which saw her become the first British woman to win a WTA singles title since 1988, soon vanished as she lost in straight sets to seventh seed Puig.

Watson showed glimpses of her best as she broke Puig on three occasions, however she had constant problems with her own serve as she suffered a 6-4 6-4 loss.

The 21-year-old dropped her serve five times and she faced 14 break points in total.

Watson had led 3-1 in the second set but Puig rallied to seal the win in 93 minutes.

Second seed Samantha Stosur was barely troubled as she beat Johanna Larsson 6-4 6-2, while wildcard Kurumi Nara saw off Caroline Garcia 6-3 6-2.

Fourth seed Eugenie Bouchard also secured her place in the second round with a straight-sets win, the Canadian overcoming Varvara Lepchenko 6-3 6-0, while Misaki Doi toppled Silvia Soler-Espinosa 6-1 6-2.