Beaten Watson dispels injury fears

British women’s No 1 Heather Watson dismissed any Wimbledon injury fears despite crashing out of the Aegon Classic in the first round yesterday.

The 23-year-old lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to qualifier Aleksandra Krunic on the Ann Jones Centre Court in Birmingham.

Watson pulled out of the Aegon Open last week citing an elbow problem and was heavily strapped and never looked comfortable.

She remains confident the injury will not hamper her Wimbledon preparations, though, ahead of Eastbourne, which starts on Monday.

“I’m looking after it and making sure I feel good. I’m definitely going to Eastbourne and I’m definitely going to Wimbledon,” she said.

“I don’t think it’s why I lost, I’m still managing it.

“I lost because I played really poorly. I made way too many unforced errors, I was very inconsistent.”

Watson saved two set points but failed to stop the Serbian from cashing in on a third in the tie break to take the first set 7-6.

Krunic, ranked 87th in the world, kept pressing in the second set and forced a break in the seventh game which proved crucial. Watson brought it back to 5-4 but Krunic served for the match with ease.

Number one seed Simona Halep comfortably beat British wildcard entry Naomi Broady in the second round, 6-4 6-2.

Elsewhere, Victoria Azarenka beat Varvara Lepchenko 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 and Jelena Jankovic cruised past Tereza Smitkova 6-4 6-4.

Svetlana Kuznetsova beat Karin Knapp 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-2 and Timea Babos beat Roberta Vinci 6-2 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-5).

Heather Watson: inconsistent.