Watson wins in two

HEATHER WATSON has safely negotiated the first qualifying round at the rain-hit Australian Open.

She beat France's Kristina Mladenovic 6-3, 6-2 in 57 minutes to book herself a clash against Ukrainian Lesya Tsurenko, at 157 ranked just eight places below her in the world.

Watson got 71% of her first serves in against Mladenovic and hit seven aces.