Watson loss is a damp squib ahead of SW19
HEATHER WATSON will go into Wimbledon having won just one singles match on grass all year after losing in the first round of the Aegon International in Eastbourne yesterday. The 24-year-old was knocked out by Russian Elena Vesnina 6-2, 6-3 in just 1hour 12minutes and said her energy had been sapped by rain delays. The British No 2 was knocked out in the first round at Nottingham and got just one victory under her belt at the Aegon Classic at a wet Birmingham last week, before eventual finalist Barbora Strycova dispatched her in straight sets. ‘I’m a bit tired from waiting around, I was a bit over it,’ she said. ‘It happens, that’s part of it, but I just want no rain.’ Watson came within two points of beating world No 1 Serena Williams in a Centre Court thriller at Wimbledon last year but her preparation for this year’s tournament has been limited. ‘I didn’t have a good day but I feel really good heading into Wimbledon, I feel my timing’s there,’ she said. Watson seemed subdued as she got just 57 per cent of first serves in and failed to find an answer to Vesnina’s onslaught.