HEATHER WATSON admitted she is still feeling the impact of being sidelined by glandular fever after sliding to a first-round Wimbledon defeat against American teenager Madison Keys.

The British number two is in her fourth tournament back after missing more than two months with the illness, which was diagnosed in March but had been in her system since the end of last year.

Watson relies on her speed around the court and consistency, neither of which were at their optimum as she went down 6-3 7-5 against 18-yearold Keys on Court Two.

The 21-year-old said: ‘‘I feel like my game isn’t back yet. I don’t think I served well today.

I didn’t have a high first-serve percentage. My reactions are slow. I’m not moving like I usually move, getting balls back.

‘‘I don’t feel like my game’s there yet, so that will come back with time, time to practise.

I have a big gap now to get the training in, get some fitness training in.

‘‘Definitely after grand slams I feel it’s good definitely to have a few days off and rest. Then I definitely want to get running, get in the gym, get fit, get back to how I was playing before I got ill.

‘‘I wasn’t 100 per cent when I came back, and I’ve said that.

But I think I came back at the right time. I wanted matches.

I wanted to do fitness as I was coming back with the matches to get the feeling back of playing matches.’’ Keys is possibly the most exciting of a crop of young Americans, and the 18-yearold is already ranked 52nd in the world.

Watson struggled to deal with her huge kick serve all day and Keys cracked 23 winners, with her backhand also very impressive.

The American broke early in the first set, and her serve helped her out on the only occasion Watson threatened to level.

The second set looked more promising for the Guernsey player when she got the better of three successive breaks at the start.

She held off Keys at 3-2 but the pressure was growing, and the American levelled at 4-4.

When the end came, its manner was unfortunate for Watson, with Keys twice benefiting from lucky net cords, including on match point.

Watson said: ‘‘It was (unlucky).

But, at the end of the day, I was a break up anyway in that set. I shouldn’t have lost it.

‘‘Madison played well. She served well throughout the match. I knew going in it was going to be a tough one, and it was.’’ Keys won her first match on the WTA Tour aged 14 and beat Serena Williams the same year in World Team Tennis by five games to one.

Watson tipped her for the top, saying: ‘‘I saw Madison about a year ago. I thought, ‘This girl’s got a good game, she’s going to start climbing’.

She has. She’s climbed so quick.

‘‘Some outsiders might look at my draw and think, ‘She hasn’t got a seeded player, she’s got a good draw’.

‘‘But I know Madison is a good player. She’s going to be top 30 soon and maybe even higher. It is very tough to get up there.

‘‘She’s only 18. She’s bigger than me, but she’s younger. I think she’s definitely a player to look out for in the future.’’

  • Andy Murray will play on Court One when the British number one takes on Lu Yenhsun.

After the second seed’s easy win over Benjamin Becker in his first match, Murray will hope for a comfortable outing on the All England Club’s second largest court.

Centre Court spectators, who might have expected to see Murray, will instead have to be satisfied with Victoria Azarenka, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and defending men’s champion Roger Federer.

Second seed Azarenka opens proceedings against Italy’s Flavia Pennetta while Tsonga takes on big-hitting Ernests Gulbis, who upset Tomas Berdych in the first round last year.

Federer is last on court against Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky.