Watson cruises past wild card into third round

British No 2 puts Brisbane disappointment behind her

Heather Watson raced to a straight sets victory over Australian wild card Jamiee Fourlis in the second round of the Hobart International.

The 25-year-old British No 2 spent just an hour and 10 minutes on court as she dismissed her teenage opponent 6-2 6-2.

Watson, who won the tournament in 2015, broke the 18-year-old’s serve twice in each set, including in the very first game.

Her victory follows a disappointing campaign at the Brisbane International last week, where she was knocked out in the first round.

Watson will now move on to face No 55 in the world, Croatia’s Donna Vekic, in the third round.

● Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza cast doubt over her participation at next week’s Australian Open after pulling out of the Sydney International with a thigh injury.

The 24-year-old top seed reached the quarter-finals with a 6-3 7-6 (8-6) win over Kiki Bertens but withdrew hours after her victory.

● Britain’s Cameron Norrie battled to victory in his first match of the Australian Open qualifiers, but it was not such good news for compatriot Liam Broady.

Norrie, ranked 112 in the world, faced Canada’s Filip Peliwo and despite dropping a set on a tie-break he rallied to win 6-1 6-7 6-4 and will face Australian John-Patrick Smith in the next round.

Broady, however, crashed out of the qualifiers as he lost 5-7 6-3 7-6 (5-7) to Italy’s Matteo Berrettini.