Australian Open: Heather Watson beats Kristyna Pliskova to reach second round

Britain’s Heather Watson made a winning start at the Australian Open despite her preparations being limited by a 14-day quarantine in her hotel room.

Watson was one of 72 players who underwent a “hard quarantine” on their arrival in Australia, which left them unable to train outdoors for two weeks.

She will play either Anett Kontaveit or Aliaksandra Sasnovich next.

The Briton, ranked 60 in the world, had beaten Pliskova in the opening round of last year’s Australian Open.

Watson, who had lost her sole warm-up match, hit 37 winners and overturned a 3-1 deficit in the second set to force a tie-break, before converting her first match point.

She previously said there was “nothing fun or easy” about the 14-day quarantine.

Players were provided with workout equipment, with Watson sharing videos of herself jokingly doing a hotel room triathlon during her isolation.

Watson has never gone beyond the third round at the Australian Open.

British number one Johanna Konta and Francesca Jones are also in action on the second day at Melbourne Park.