Heather Watson's struggles continued with a straight-sets defeat to Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the J&T Banka Prague Open first round.
Watson had been handed a tough draw in Schmiedlova, who won the Claro Open Colsanitas in Bogota two weeks ago, but her ranking was still four spots higher than her world No 86 ranked opponent
Howeve,r Schmiedlova needed an hour and 26 minutes to complete a dominant 6-1 6-3 victory that booked a place in the second round at Watson's expense.
The 25-year-old has now suffered eight consecutive defeats since a promising start to the season that saw her reach the semi-finals of the Hobart International in January.
Victory over Donna Vekic in that tournament remains her last singles success, going on to lose in the last four to Elise Mertens before her current run of qualifying and first round defeats.
But the 2016 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles champion has enjoyed success on the doubles circuit, winning the Mexican Open with Tatjana Maria in March and reaching the semi-finals in Charleston alongside Mihaela Buzarnescu a couple of weeks ago.
Coverage of the ATP Madrid Open gets underway on Sky Sports Arena on Monday, May 7 from 11am.
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