Heather Watson's wait to reach US Open second round continues after defeat by Alize Cornet

The first-round draw had offered Watson a reasonable chance of recording her maiden victory in this tournament but she was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by her French opponent

Heather Watson was beaten in one hour and 36 minutes (Getty)

Heather Watson’s long wait for a first victory at the US open goes on. The 25-year-old Briton made her seventh appearance in the main draw here but suffered the same fate as she had in her previous six appearances. The first-round draw had offered Watson a reasonable chance of recording her maiden victory in this tournament but she was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by France’s Alize Cornet.

Watson, who was junior champion here eight years ago, loves New York, loves the playing conditions here and has enjoyed many of her finest moments on hard courts, but the world No 74 never seems to find her form in the year’s final Grand Slam event.

Cornet, the world No 46, is a good athlete and a sound competitor, but the 27-year-old Frenchwoman has no major weapons, which made this a good opportunity for Watson. However, a steady flow of mistakes kept handing the advantage to Cornet, who had won the only previous meeting between the two players in Washington four years ago.

Watson has never been able to find her form in New York (Getty)

“I just made a few too many unforced errors,” Watson said afterwards. “I felt good with how I was striking the ball. I made quite a few mistakes but I felt like I was hitting the ball cleanly. Just too many mistakes.”

She added: “I trained as hard as I could, prepared as best as I could. It’s a shame when you put in loads of hours. I made sure that I was on court for a lot hours this week, making sure I was as fit as possible. And it just sucks that it’s over in like an hour and whatever.”

Having prepared for the tournament in brutally hot weather at her training base in Florida, Watson felt ready for anything the New York weather could throw at her. However, the conditions on the opening day of the tournament were mild in comparison with how they can be here, with the temperature 22C and only a gentle breeze blowing.

Watson and Cornet opened proceedings on Court 4, which is located on the edge of the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Centre and is one of the smaller courts here. The stands were sparsely populated at the start but the crowd grew in numbers as the match progressed, as did the support for Watson.

A long opening point was an indication of what was in store between two players who can chase balls down but are not always the best at finishing off points. Cornet failed to put away two successive smashes and then netted a backhand. On the final point of the game, however, another lengthy exchange ended with Watson putting a forehand wide as Cornet made what proved to be the only break of serve of the opening set.

Watson saved three set points when serving at 3-5 down, but Cornet converted her fourth in the following game when she forced her opponent into a forehand error after a hard-fought rally.

Watson's mistakes handed the advantage to Cornet (Getty)

The Briton’s disappointment was evident in her demeanour at the changeover and her mood was not improved when she again dropped serve in the opening game at the start of the second set, missing a backhand on Cornet’s second break point.

Watson broke back to level at 2-2, only to drop her serve again, this time courtesy of a double fault. “Get the ball in!” the Briton screamed in increasing frustration with her mistakes.

To her credit Watson once again levelled the set, breaking for 4-4 with some admirably aggressive play. However, she double-faulted again on game point in the following game and went on to drop serve for the fourth time when she netted a backhand. Cornet served out for victory after an hour and 36 minutes, converting her first match point when Watson hit a forehand wide.

Watson was frustrated with the way she had let the match slip from her grasp after her fightback. “I had definitely fought my way back into the match and given myself an opportunity but just wasn’t able to take it,” she said. “I thought she played very well. She’s a very experienced player and has been around a long time. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”

She added: “I still love New York. I felt a lot better in my match today than I had in previous years, especially like last year and the year before that. I just felt that she was better than me on the day.”