The Birmingham crowd were left disappointed after home favourite Heather Watson was knocked out by Aleksandra Krunic in straight sets 7-6 6-4.

While only 5ft4, the Serbian packs a mighty punch and troubled Watson throughout. Both players were serving well with very few break opportunities, each player having two in the first set. For Krunic, they doubled up as set points at 4-5 and 5-6, the second of which was saved with a big serve from Watson.

The British No.1 did earn an early minibreak but some big hitting from Krunic saw her regain the advantage and she would close out the tiebreak 7-5. Despite coming through a tough three setter to qualify, Krunic showed no signs of fatigue in the second set and would strike at 3-3 to earn the first and only break in the match. Despite her best efforts, Watson remained unable to get a foothold into any Krunic service games winning just 25% on return in the second set.

Krunic closed out the match with a hold to 15 to secure her first tour win since late April while Watson prepares to move on to the AEGON International in Eastbourne.

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Svetlana Kuznetsova will be Krunic’s opponent after she defeated Karin Knapp in three sets 7-6 5-7 6-2. Misaki Doi was also a winner on Tuesday, defeating Monica Puig who has now suffered her seventh loss in eight matches.