Heather Watson goes down in straight sets to Victoria Azarenka in Montreal

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/aug/08/heather-watson-straight-sets-victoria-azarenka-montreal

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Britain’s Heather Watson battled hard but suffered a straight-sets defeat to Victoria Azarenka in round three of the Rogers Cup in Montreal.

Watson was broken three times as she lost the first set 6-2, serving four double faults and winning less than 50% of points on her first serve.

She came from a break down in the second to level at 3-3 – the first time she had taken three games in a set against Azarenka – but the Belarusian immediately broke again to lead 4-3 and closed the match out 6-2, 6-4, finishing with an ace.

Fancied pair Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova were both eliminated at the same stage.

Fourth seed Sharapova was beaten in three sets by Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, in a match lasting two hours and 22 minutes.

Kvitova, the world No. 4 who this year won her second Wimbledon title, was seeded second in Montreal, but was dumped out 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 by Russian Ekaterina Makarova in an even longer match clocking in at almost two hours and 40 minutes.

There were no such delays for top seed Serena Williams, who saw off 15th-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova 7-5, 6-4.

Another seed fell to an American opponent as rising star Coco Vandeweghe upset Jelena Jankovic 7-6, 2-6, 7-5.

Williams’s sister Venus also advanced, the 34-year-old taking the notable scalp of sixth seed Angelique Kerber in another long battle that finished 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to set up a clash with Suarez Navarro.

Caroline Wozniacki brushed aside American qualifier Shelby Rogers 6-1 6-0.

In the day’s final match, third seed Agnieszka Radwanska beat Sabine Lisicki 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.