Watson to take a break from tennis

British No. 1 Heather Watson is to take a break from tennis after losing in the first round of the Miami Masters.

 

It is the second tournament in succession that the world ranked 39 has been beaten in the opening round of a tournament.

 

She was beaten 1-6 7-5 6-4 by Ayumi Morita of Japan in Miami, and is yet to win a match since becoming world number 39.

 

"This year I've been going a bit too long so I'm a bit burnt out," she told BBC Radio 5 live.

 

"I've been thinking about it now for a while and I'm going to take a break."

 

Watson recently lost to Irina-Camelia Begu earlier this month in Indian Wells.

 

The British No. 1 easily won the first set against Morita and raced into a 4-1 lead in the next.

But Morita, ranked 11 places below her young opponent, hit back to lead 5-4 and broke Watson again to force a decider.

 

The 23-year-old Japanese player secured two more breaks and completed victory in two hours 45 minutes when she converted a third match point.

 

"I was looking at the stats and I actually won more points, but that can happen in tennis," Watson observed.

"It really hurts, I think I just need to find myself, find my game again."