EASTBOURNE, England – 2013 champion Elena Vesnina got her Aegon International Eastbourne campaign off to a winning start, storming past British No.2 Heather Watson in straight sets for a spot in the second round.

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The Russian needed just over an hour to oust the home favorite 6-2, 6-3, and grab her first grass court win of the season.

“It was really a nice atmosphere on the court because a lot of people came to watch our match,” the Russian said. “It was really tough conditions: windy, smoggy at the end. I’m really happy that I won this difficult match.”

Despite the conditions, Vesnina was in full flight against the Brit in the overcast Eastbourne. After starting out in a deadlock, Vesnina left Watson reeling when she rattled off four games in a row to snap up the first set 6-2. Watson continued to struggle in the second set before giving up a late break to hand Vesnina the match.

Vesnina won 71% of points behind her first serve and not facing a break point in the entire match. She struck 24 winners to 16 unforced errors, compared to Watson’s 13 and 17. Vesnina was especially dominating at the net, winning 12 of her 14 net points.

“I’m really happy to be back in Eastbourne,” Vesnina said after her win. “It’s bringing me some good memories from winning the title here in 2013. Of course, it’s tough to play Heather here in England again with everyone supporting her.”

Nevertheless, the win is a good omen for the Russian: in 2013, Vesnina beat out Watson in the second round on her way to the title.

After ousting the home favorite in commanding fashion, Vesnina will next look to thwart Belinda Bencic’s happy homecoming to Eastbourne. Bencic, the defending champion, kicked her 2015 season into high gear at the Aegon International last year and already has a semifinal appearance at the Ricoh Open under her belt.

Watson wasn’t the only local who took a tumble in the first round. Of the four Brits in the main draw, three lost today as Tara Moore and Naomi Broady were sent crashing out.

Monica Puig played through a thick fog in her 6-1, 6-1 against Broady, and admitted that the blustery conditions were difficult to adjust to.

“Just keeping my focus was the main key, Puig said. “I knew the points weren’t going to be long, so I just had to be very aware of what was going on.

“I’ve never played in a sea mist before. It was really something, it was tough to see the ball!”

Joining Vesnina and Puig in the second round are Eugenie Bouchard, Andrea Petkovic and Ekaterina Makarova.

Whoops! ? Nice to get the win today with some pretty tough conditions as you can probably see! ? On to the next!! ? pic.twitter.com/MaxJlQqcB2

— Monica Puig (@MonicaAce93) June 20, 2016