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Watson loses epic against Sharapova

Heather Watson took a tight tiebreaker to claim the first set against Maria Sharapova in Tokyo © PA Photos

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Heather Watson was in giant-killing mood once again on Tuesday, but after taking the first set against world No. 2 Maria Sharapova at the Toray Pan Pacific Open she narrowly missed out on what would have ranked as the most significant victory of her career.

Watson, ranked 78 in the world, had already knocked out Sabine Lisicki in the opening round to set up a meeting with the second-seeded Sharapova. And she picked up from where she left off to take the first set against the Russian, only to lose a tight third in a 6-7(7) 6-3 6-4 defeat.

Sharapova was certainly not at her best on Tuesday, getting 52 per cent of first serves in as she coughed up 14 double-faults. Nevertheless, Watson still needed to take advantage and did so by breaking twice in the first set.

The Brit's power never matched that of her rival, with Sharapova finding two breaks of her own, but as they moved towards the tiebreaker it was clear that the angles found by Watson were troubling Sharapova. A tense tiebreaker ensued but, having blown away Lisicki in a shootout 24 hours earlier, Watson held her nerve to claim a one-set advantage.

Sharapova's serve hit a new low early in the second, with less than 35% of first deliveries finding their target, and two more breaks were shared as the scores advanced to 2-2. She momentarily advanced to a 4-2 lead, but a double-fault followed by an ace in the next game summed up Sharapova's ongoing battle as Watson immediately levelled.

The problem for Watson was that her own first serve was beginning to collapse, falling from a 73% success rate in the first set to 45% in the second. Sharapova's forehand was loaded each time she faced a second delivery, and her third break of the set allowed her to serve out for 1-1.

The first game of the decider, on Watson's serve, instantly took on enormous significance as the Brit fell 0-40 behind before saving three break points. She could not keep producing heroics though, with Sharapova eventually breaking through at the fourth time of asking to assume control.

Not that her lead lasted long. Watson - showing magnificent courage and no shortage of talent - responded immediately for 1-1, and then again for 2-2 after a double-fault had handed momentum back to Sharapova.

Neither player had held serve in the opening four games of the third set so it was with some significance that Watson did so for 3-2. However, Sharapova followed suit to spark a run of three consecutive games, taking her to within a game of the match at 5-3. Watson held serve to force Sharapova to close out the match, which she managed to end a three-hour battle.

Sharapova will now meet Lucie Safarova, after her opponent Klara Zakopalova was forced to withdraw from their meeting.

Elsewhere, World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka began her campaign in dominant fashion, crushing Austria's Tamira Paszek 6-1 6-1, but Ana Ivanovic was upset 3-6 6-4 6-2 by Urszula Radwanska.

Australian former US Open champion Sam Stosur saw off Francesca Schiavone 4-6 6-2 7-5, while Nadia Petrova defeated Simona Halep 7-6 6-0.

China's Li Na defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 7-5 4-6 6-2 to book a third-round showdown with Caroline Wozniacki, who saw off Daniela Hantuchova 7-6(3) 6-1.

Watson was one of three qualifiers to lose today, with Jamie Hampton the last qualifier standing after her 5-7 6-2 6-3 victory over Kaia Kanepi. Pauline Parmentier's run was ended 6-3 6-1 by Roberta Vinci, while fellow Italian Sara Errani knocked out Johanna Larsson 6-3 7-6.

Croatia's Petra Martic pulled off a shock defeat of No. 4 seed Petra Kvitova 6-4 6-4 while fifth-seeded Angelique Kerber beat Japan's Ayumi Morita 6-3 6-4 and Marion Bartoli beat Julia Goerges 6-2 7-5.

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