Heather Watson suffers defeat at Japan Open British number two Heather Watson's defence of her Japan Open title ended with a first-round defeat by Puerto Rica's Monica Puig in Osaka. Watson, 92nd in the world, has struggled in 2013 and lost 6-4 6-4 to Puig, who is 48th in the rankings. The 21-year-old's serve was under constant pressure and she was broken five times during the match. Watson moved up to 39 in the women's rankings early on in 2013 but has since dropped to 92nd. Watson overcame the Puig serve three times and was 3-1 up in the second set but ended up losing in 93 minutes. The victory for Watson at the Japan Open last year was her maiden title win and she moved up to number 39 in the rankings early in 2013. But a bout of glandular fever halted her progress and, since her return, she suffered first-round exits at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. She has also changed her coach but it has so far failed to produce an upturn in fortunes.