Heather Watson was broken seven times as she was dumped out of the first round of the Baku Cup by France's Kristina Mladenovic.

Watson, the British No 1 who was seeded seventh in Azerbaijan, was in action for the first time since falling to Angelique Kerber in the second round at Wimbledon but it was to prove an unsuccessful return for the 22-year-old as she slumped to a 6-2 3-6 6-0 loss.

Things started badly for Watson, now 57 in the world rankings, as Mladenovic raced into a 3-0 lead and the unseeded Frenchwoman, who reached the semi-finals in Istanbul last week, broke for a second time to clinch the first set.

The second set was a topsy-turvy affair which included six service breaks - four of them to Watson as the world No 57 levelled up the match at 1-1.

Watson, who had won two of her previous four matches with Mladenovic but was beaten in their last meeting in France two years ago, would have hoped to kick on for victory from there but she was broken three more times in the final set to suffer a convincing loss.

(Daily Mail)

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