Lacklustre Watson makes limp exit

Heather Watson served up a limp display as she crashed out of the French Open.

The British number two won just two service games on her way to a 6-3 6-4 defeat to Belgium’s Elise Mertens.

It was the sixth time Watson had reached the second round at Roland Garros, but she has still yet to advance any further.

Watson had breezed through her first-round match against France’s Oceane Dodin, dropping just three games along the way. She also hit nine aces.

But the 26-year-old’s serve deserted her this time, with five double-faults added to 37 unforced errors giving her a mountain to climb against anyone, let alone the 16th seed.

Not that Mertens was much better. The first set featured a staggering eight breaks of serve in nine games.

Mertens secured another ‘crucial’ hold at the start of the second before breaking Watson yet again.

Watson finally won on her own serve at the eighth attempt, and forced her way to back on serve at 3-4.

Both players held again but Watson had the task of serving to stay in the match, and given what had gone before it was not a surprise that she could not manage it.

“There were just too many errors today, and I was very up and down,” said Watson.

“I would get on a hot streak and win a couple games, and then I would just make four unforced errors, and that needs to change.”

If Maria Sharapova is to win a third French title she seems intent on doing it the hard way.

The Russian lost six games in a row during her first-round victory over Richel Hogenkamp and had to dig deep again to beat Donna Vekic in round two.

Serving for the first set at 5-3, Sharapova allowed the world number 52 from Croatia to break back before eventually getting over the line 7-5.

She dropped serve early in the second, and later served for the match at 5-3 again, with the same outcome. However, Sharapova recovered to triumph 7-5 6-4 to keep her first Roland Garros campaign in three years on track.

This time last year Sharapova had recently returned from a 15-month doping ban, but she had not built her ranking high enough to qualify and was not offered a wild card.

But 12 months later Sharapova is back in the world’s top 30, seeded 28th and a potential challenger for the title.

She will face Karolina Pliskova, the sixth seed, in the third round.

Serena Williams had to come from a set down to book her place in the third round.

The 23-time grand slam winner looked in trouble when Ashleigh Barty took the first set but Williams, 36, used all her power and experience to knock out the Australian 17th seed 3-6 6-3 6-4.

Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, the 2016 winner, had a more comfortable route into round three.

The Spaniard was rarely troubled in a 6-4 6-3 victory over French wild card Fiona Ferro to set up a meeting with Australia’s Sam Stosur.

Stosur knocked out Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.