Australian Open 2021: Britain's Heather Watson knocked out by Anett Kontaveit in the second round

ByJames Kilpatrick

Updated 11/02/2021 at 06:34 GMT

Anna Kontaveit knocks out Heather Watson. The 2021 Australian Open is live on Eurosport. Watch every match live and ad-free on the Eurosport app and eurosport.co.uk. You can download the Eurosport app for iOS and Android now. The opening Grand Slam of the season in Melbourne runs from February 8 until February 21.

Anna Kontaveit knocks out Heather Watson - Britain’s last female player in the Australian Open singles draw - 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 on John Cain Arena.

Watson was on a six-match losing streak a few months ago, but she put that right with a first-round victory over Kristyna Pliskova.

She took on the in-form Kontaveit, having not won two consecutive matches since last February and unfortunately that streak would continue for the 28-year-old who battled hard against the number 21 seed.

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Watson reeled off five successive points to win the first-set tie-break 7-5 and there were signs she might have been able to pull of a surprise result when she broke back to make it 4-4 in the second set. But Kontaveit broke again with four unanswered points and wrapped up the leveller.

Into the third and Kontaveit sent a devastating backhand down the line to earn a break point at 2-2. The Estonian won it after Watson fired too long.

Kontaveit broke again to go 5-2 up with another impressive backhand before serving out the match. The 25-year-old will play American Shelby Rogers in the third round.

Highlights | Anett Kontaveit - Heather Watson

KONTAVEIT: IT WAS EXTREMELY CLOSE

“I’m really happy with the way I played today," she said post-match. "I hung in there and it was such a tough match. I’m feeling really great and I’m happy with last week as well so I’m really happy with how this week goes.

“It was extremely close but the momentum was swinging. I managed to fight for everything and stay in it as much as I could. I’m really happy with that.

“Shelby is a really good player and had a good end of season last year and is playing well. It’s going to be a tough match and I hope I recover from today and get ready for that.”

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