Wimbledon 2017: Heather Watson bows out after letting lead over Victoria Azarenka slip

The former British no 1 was left frustrated in her attempts to reach round four of a Grand Slam for the first time

Watson pushed Azarenka all the way but was unable to force the win (Getty)

Centre Court was the scene of Heather Watson’s finest moment when she won the mixed doubles title here 12 months ago, but the most famous stage in tennis has also witnessed some of her greatest disappointments.

The latest came here on Friday when the 25-year-old Briton let slip a lead against Victoria Azarenka as her latest attempt to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time ended in failure. Azarenka, a former world No 1 and double Australian Open champion who was playing only her fifth match after a year’s absence due to the birth of her first child, won 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Three of Watson’s four appearances in the third round of Grand Slam tournaments have been at the All England Club. In 2012 she lost to the eventual runner-up, Agnieszka Radwanska, winning only two games, and three years later she played one of the most memorable matches of her career, losing 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to Serena Williams after going within two points of beating the eventual champion.

Watson was one set up (Getty)

At least this match bore a closer resemblance to the second of those defeats. Watson was the better player in the first set and fought ferociously to stay in the match in the decider before Azarenka’s big-match experience proved decisive as the 27-year-old Belarusian held her nerve in the closing stages.

At this stage of her comeback it might seem fanciful to consider Azarenka as a potential champion this year, but she reached the semi-finals here in 2011 and 2012 and is showing that she has lost none of the competitive fire which last year saw her become the only player to beat Williams in four finals.

“These are the matches that you look for as you try to find a way when not everything goes great,” Azarenka said afterwards. “I’m very happy that I was able to stay tough and find some other ways to win today. In the third set I really stepped up in the key moments.”

Watson has been making a comeback of her own after a poor 12 months in which she has dropped out of the world’s top 100 and should be proud of the way she pushed Azarenka so hard. The Belarusian had won all four of their previous meetings without dropping a set and had lost a total of just 11 games in the process.

Azarenka is one of the favourites for the title (Getty)

On yet another glorious afternoon at this sun-kissed Wimbledon the temperature was climbing above 28C when the two players walked on to Centre Court for the 1pm start. Both women had beaten seeded opponents in their previous matches, Watson having knocked out Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova and Azarenka having accounted for Elena Vesnina.

Azarenka might have been expected to be the player with fewer nerves, but it was Watson who made the more confident start. Having held her own serve after saving two break points in the opening game, Watson broke Azarenka’s at the first attempt. From 30-15 up, Azarenka double-faulted and then made two successive forehand errors, the second of them off what should have been an easy kill.

Watson wobbled when leading 4-2, dropping her serve to love with a double fault, but responded admirably by breaking back in the following game. The Briton served out for the set after 34 minutes, converting her first set point when Azarenka netted a forehand.

The first set had seen Watson make just four unforced errors to Azarenka’s eight, but the balance shifted at the start of the second. Watson’s forehand in particular started to break down, two successive errors costing her a break of serve in the second game.

Azarenka, who was starting to hit the ball with more aggression and moved further up the court, saved a break point before going 3-0 up. She broke again to take a 5-1 lead, though she needed a big slice of luck on break point as her backhand hit the top of the net and toppled over on to Watson’s side of the court.

Five of the games in the second set went to deuce, but when it mattered Azarenka was able to turn up the gas. Serving for the second set, the Belarusian hit a forehand winner when Watson had a break point and took the next two points to level the match. The unforced error count in the second set told the story of the shift in momentum – 14 by Watson and eight by Azarenka.

When Watson went 0-30 down in the opening game of the deciding set it seemed that the balance of power might have shifted decisively, but the Briton fought back to hold on to her serve.

The seventh game of the final set featured six deuces and lasted more than 10 minutes. Watson failed to take any of her four game points and was eventually broken when she hit a forehand into the net, but her response could not be faulted as she broke back to 4-4.

Azarenka, however, was not to be denied. In the following game she went to 15-40 thanks to some brilliant defensive play and gave herself the chance to serve for the match by thumping a forehand winner on the next point.

Watson broke Azarenka in the third to level but was broken straight back (Getty)

A double fault on the opening point of the last game suggested Azarenka might be tightening up and Watson went on to force two break points, but Azarenka held firm and converted her first match point when the Briton hit a backhand long.

“It definitely wasn’t an easy match,” Azarenka said afterwards. “She was the crowd favourite and I feel like she’s really inspired when she plays here. She started well and I felt like I was a little bit on my back foot for the whole match.

“In the second set I started to step in a little bit more, but I still feel like I should clean up my game a little bit. But I’m very happy that I stayed tough in the important moments and took my opportunities because the third set was a little bit up and down.

She added: “I really played well in the important moments. I really stepped up. But overall throughout the match I needed to come in a little bit more. I stayed too far back.”