Watson back on track with victory in Luxembourg

Heather Watson beat Yanina Wickmayer in the first round of the Luxembourg Open to register her first tour level win since Wimbledon.

The British No 2 struggled on the American hard courts and in Asia but needed just 64 minutes to beat Belgian Wickmayer 6-2, 6-1.

Watson took her chances impressively, converting all four break points, and won more than half the points on her opponent’s serve. She will face Estonian third seed Anett Kontaveit in the second round.

It was a good day for Britain, with Naomi Broady also through to round two after an impressive 6-2, 6-2 victory over sixth seed Tatjana Maria.

The 27-year-old lost in the final round of qualifying to Pauline Parmentier but was given a lucky loser spot for the second successive week and this time took full advantage.

Broady lost just five points on serve during the match and dominated Maria’s second serve to claim her first top-100 scalp since June.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal has pulled out of next week’s Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel to rest his right knee.

The world No 1, who has a long history of knee problems, wore tape during his final defeat by Roger Federer in the Shanghai Masters last weekend.

Nadal has enjoyed great success on hard courts this summer but has made no secret of how gruelling he finds the surface.

After winning the US Open last month and then winning the China Open title in Beijing immediately before his run to the final in Shanghai, Nadal has decided to take a week off.

The Spaniard wrote on Facebook: “I sadly announce that I have to pull out of the Swiss Indoors Basel.

“After seeing my doctor in Spain just after landing from Shanghai, I am suffering from an overstressing of the knee and the problems were already present at the tournament in Shanghai, which now forces me to take time off on advice of my doctor.”