Johanna Konta sees off Heather Watson in battle of the Britons at Indian Wells

The British No 1 progressed through to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open, beating her British opponent 6-4 6-4

Johanna Konta and Heather Watson shake hands after their showdown (Getty)

Johanna Konta beat fellow Briton Heather Watson in straight sets as the pair met for the first time on the WTA Tour at Indian Wells.

Konta, the British number one and 11th seed, moved into the third round of the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-4 6-4 win on Stadium 1.

Their only previous meeting came four years ago in a second-tier event in Barnstaple which saw Watson retire injured after losing the first four games.

This time it reached a proper conclusion and Konta, ranked 97 places above her opponent, made her quality tell despite some tough moments.

Watson won the first two games of the match and put together three in a row at the death as Konta threatened to wobble but there were too many mistakes of her own littered through the 94-minute match-up.

Watson double-faulted on nine occasions and at times grew visibly frustrated at her lack of control. In all she was broken on five occasions, edged out of the first set then faced with a foremidable 5-1 scoreline in the second.


 Konta celebrates her victory 
 (Getty)

The match appeared lost at that moment but Watson produced her best tennis of the day to take things deep, serving to love twice in a row and breaking in between.

The momentum finally gave way at the crucial moment and, following a good rally at match point, Watson failed to clear the net to settle matters in Konta's favour.