Heather Watson in second round action Australian Open Tennis 2022 Melbourne Park, Australia Day 4 Thursday 20 January 2022 PHOTO BY KARL WINTER
British No.2 Dan Evans had a walkover into round three of the Australian Open on Thursday when opponent Arthur Rinderknech withdrew with a wrist injury.
But Heather Watson didn’t fare so well, losing 7-6(4) 6-4 No. 29 seed Tamara Zidansek.
Watson hit 35 unforced errors in the match as the opening set swung both ways. At 6-5 Watson missed a break opportunity and Zidansek went on to win the tiebreak by three points.
Both players broke each other early in the second set before Zidansek got there better of Watson’s first serve to take the advantage.
The Slovenian got a break when Watson double faulted, and although the Brit broke back in the following game, Zidansek eventually prevailed after Watson’s wide backhand handed the match to her opponent.
Evans will now face either ninth seed Felix Auger Aliassime or Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina next.
Elsewhere, World No.2 Aryana Sabalenka survived a scare to beat China’s Xinyu Wang 1-6 6-4 6-2.
Aryna Sabalenka began her quest for a third straight title at the US Open as…
Carlos Alcaraz ended a four-and-a-half month injury exile with a resounding 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat…
Williams has lost her last 15 matches as a wild card, with her last victory dating…
Novak Djokovic hit the wall as the 24-time Grand Slam winner vomited at the back…
Third seed Jessica Pegula got up and running on Sunday's opening day at the US…
Former finalist Casper Ruud made a last-minute pull out on Sunday as the US Open began,…