Kerber was made to work hard on Centre Court (©GettyImages). Heather Watson's hopes of making it to third round of Wimbledon were dashed by German ninth seed Angelique Kerber.
After a poor first set Watson showed her fighting spirit to claim the second, but Kerber took the all-important decider, advancing 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
The 26-year-old will now go on to face Belgian 24th seed Kirsten Flipkens in the last 32.
Talking to BBC Sport after the match, Kerber said: "Heather is a great, talented player and I am really happy I won. I was trying to be aggressive and focus on the moment. Heather has a very good future and I wish her all the best, she is a great player and a great personality."
Watson had been hoping to claim her first victory over a top ten player but made a poor start on Centre Court as she conceded the first set in just 29 minutes, making just 50% of her first serves and 10 unforced errors.
The 22-year-old showed a grit and determination that we come to expect in her performances during the second set, saving four break points at 4-4 and eventually breaking the German's serve on her third break point in the final game.
After slipping out the top 100 due to injury in 2013 Watson has battled her way back to 60th in the rankings. However she could not fight her way through to the next round as the world number seven quickly asserted her dominance in the final set.
Watson found herself 3-0 down before she could blink and one last fight back was just beyond her today, but one thing this tie does show is that Watson is capable of holding her own with the best in the business.
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